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OUTLINES 



OF 



GENERAL. HISTORY, 

TSS THREE PARTS: 

t. ANCIENT HISTORY. II. MODERN HISTORY 
III. AMERICAN HISTORY. 

DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF 

SCHOOLS ANI> ACADEMIES. 



H 



BY CHARSiES YALE. 



ROCHESTER, N.Y.: 
PRINTED BY E. PECK & CO. 




1830, 






Northern District of Neiv- York, to wit : 

-*»«*$«♦ BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twenty-ninth day of 
xJl. s.# September, in the fifty-fourth year of the Independence of the 
#-$<*5*<#> United States of America, A. L). 1829, Charles Yale, of the 
said district, hath deposited in this office the title of a book, the right 
whereof he claims as author, in the words following, to wit : 

" Outlines of General History, in three parts: I. Ancient History. 
II. Modern History. III. American History. Designed for the use of 
Schools and Academies. By Charles Yale." 

In conformity to the act of the Congress of the United States, entitled 
11 An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of 
Maps, Charts, and Books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, 
during the times therein mentioned;" and also, to the act entitled "An 
act supplementary to an act entitled *' An act for the encouragement of 
learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the au- 
thors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned,'' 
and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of Designing, Engraving 
and Etching historical and other prints " 

R. R. LANSING, Clerk 
of the District Court for the Northern District of Neiv-Yor/r> 



67£ 






PREFACE, 



A correct knowledge of past events, has ever been con 
^idered as an important acquisition, not less interesting to the 
husbandman and the mechanick, than to the statesman and the 
politician. Early, therefore, to lead the minds of children and 
youth to an acquaintance with those events, is an object worthy 
of assiduous attention. But hitherto, the study of history 
has not generally formed any part of the course of education 
pursued in our common schools ; and hence, as most of our 
American youth enter early upon the active and laborious 
scenes of life, in which they find few opportunities of improving 
their minds, a very imperfect acquaintance with the history of 
their own country, or of other countries, is too often found 
among our citizens. One difficulty, and probably the principal 
one experienced in making general history a part of a common 
school education, has been the want of a work on the subject, 
suited to the capacities and the circumstances of children. An 
elementary work, in order to be extensively useful, must be sim- 
ple, both in its arrangement and style, so that it may neither 
perplex nor discourage the learner. A dry, intricate treatise, 
will never interest and please the minds of the young ; and 
hence we so often find difficulty in confining their attention to 
the study of grammar, arithmetick, &e. In these studies, the 
young mind finds nothing to interest or amuse, and it therefore 
often happens, that after several months constant drilling upon 
them, the student knows but little more respecting them, than 
when he commenced. The consequence is, that he becomes 
discouraged, acquires a disrelish for all study, together with ha- 
bits of idleness, disappoints the expectations of his friends, and 
comes into active life with but a slender stock of information 
to qualify him for usefulness or happiness. 



IV PREFACE. 

Many years experience in teaching, united with attentive ob 
servation, has convinced the author of the truth of the above 
remarks ; and to remove in some measure the ground of the 
discouragements above named, as well as to supply the deficiency 
in regard to a suitable general history for <lhe use of common 
schools, is the object of the following work. The author does 
not profess that any new matter is now brought into view, or 
that previous well known facts are narrated in a manner more 
striking or pleasing, than has been done by others. The object 
has simply been to be useful, by enlarging the sphere of com- 
mon school education, and by furnishing a new source of in- 
struction and amusement to youth. How far he has succeeded 
in this object, is left with a discerning publick to decide. 

CH: YALE. 

January 1/18S0. 



CONTENTS. 

-<-<§>->- 

PART I. 

AWCIEJST HISTORY. 

Page 
Sec. 1 Earliest authentick Records. Antiquity of the 

Scriptures. Primeval Ages, - - - 9 

£ Nature of the early Governments, - 11 

3 The Egyptians and Phoenicians, - - - 14 

4 Greece, ------- 15 

5 Grecian Colonies and Republicks, - - 17 

6 Persian Empire, till the war with Greece, - £0 

7 Philip of Macedon, Alexander the Great. Fall 

of Greece, ££ 

Sec. 8 The History of Rome, - £6 

Sec. 9 Carthage. Sicily. PunickWars, - £9 
Sec. 10 Gracchi. Civil Wars. Second Triumvirate. 

Fall of the Republick, - - 31 

Sec. 11 Rome under the Emperors, 34 
Sec. 12 Progress of Christianity. Extinction of the 

Roman Empire in the West, 38 

Sec. 13 History of the Jews, - - 40 

PART II. 

MODERS HISTORY. 

Sec. 1 Saracen Empire. Early ages of France. Em- 
pire of the East. State of the Church, 45 

Sec. £ Empire of the West. Empire of the East. State 

of the Church, - - - - - 48 

Sec. 3 Britain. Norman Conquest. State of Europe, 50 

Sec. 4 Crusades. Chivalry. Romance. State of Eu- 
rope, - 55 

Sec. 5 Scotland. England. France. Fall of the 

Greek Empire, - 59 



VI CONTENTS. 

Sec. G France. Spain. Italy. Scotland, 
Sec. 7 Progress of Literature. Progress of Commerce. 
Discoveries of the Portuguese. Charles V. 
Francis I. .--.-- 67 

Sec. 8 Reformation. Ottoman Power. State of Per- 
sia. India. China. 71 
Sec. 9 Spain. Netherlands. France. England, 75 
Sec. 10 Commonwealth of England. Charles II. James 

II. British Constitution. British Revenue, 80 
Sec. 11 France. Spain. Constitution of Portugal and 
Spain. Germany. Lewis XIV. Consti- 
tution of France, 83 

Sec. 12 Peter the Great. Charles XII. of Sweden. 

Progress of Science, - - - 87 

France. England. Austria and Germany, 91 

England. State of Europe. Seven years' 

War, 96 

Accession of George III. Dispute with Ame- 
rica. Opening of the States General, - 102 

Austria. France, 108 

Great Britain. France, to the Peace of Amiens, 114 
France. Spain, Portugal, - - 119 
France. Poland. Great Britain, - - 120 
France. Koi them States of Europe, - 131 
Sec. 21 Southern States of Europe. India, - - 138 
Sec. 22 Arts. Sciences. Laws. Government. Re- 
ligion, - 141 

PART III. 

AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Sec. 1 Aboriginal America. Language. Manners. 

Customs, ------ 149 

Sec. 2 Discovery of America by Columbus. Discove- 
ries by other adventurers. London Compa- 
ny. Plymouth Company, - - - 154 

Sec. 3 Colony of Virginia. Settlement of the Dutch. 
Landing of the Puritans. New-England 
Confederacy, 160 

Sec. i Affairs of the United Colonies. War with the 
Dutch. King Philip's War. French War 
of 1639, - 170 

Sec. 5 Salem Witchcraft. Peace of Ryswick. Cap- 
tain Kid. Settlement of Georgia, - 182 



Sec. 


13 


Sec. 


14 


Sec. 


15 


Sec. 


16 


Sec. 


17 


Sec. 


18 


Sec. 


19 


Sec. 


20 



CONTENTS. Vll 

Sec. 6 Old French War. Congress at Albany. French 

War of 1755, - - 191 

Sec. 7 Stamp Act. First Congress. Commencement 

of the Revolutionary War, - - 201 

Sec. 8 Declaration of Independence. Treaty with 

France, 211 

Sec. 9 Evacuation of Philadelphia. Capitulation of 

Charleston. Arrival of the French Fleet, 228 

Sec. 10 French Troops arrive at Rhode Island. Battle 

of Guilford. Capture of Comwallis, - 229 

Sec. 11 Termination of the War. Federal Constitu- 
tion. Jefferson chosen President, - - 240 

Sec. 12 War with Tripoli. Difficulties with France and 
England. Embargo laid. War with Eng- 
land. Capture of Hull, - 251 

Sec. 13 War with England, continued. War with the 

Creeks, , 262 

Sec. 14 Continuation of the War with England. Trea- 
ty of Peace with Britain, - 278 

See. 15 War with Algiers. United States to 1829, - 294 



FX.AN OF THE WORK. 



Each part is divided into sections, each of which embraces the leading 
events from one distinguished period to another; the sections are divided 
into paragraphs ; each of which commences with a memorable event, 
fact, or circumstance. The paragraphs are all numbered, and the ques- 
tions are also numbered to correspond with the paragraphs. The an- 
swer to each question is, invariably, to be found in the first words, line, or 
member of the paragraph ; generally in the precise words in which the 
scholar is expected to answer. 

In the American History, a more minute relation of events is given, 
than in either the Ancient or Mpdern History. For this part of the work 
also, a second series of questions has been introduced, designed to exer- 
cise the judgement of the learner in forming the answer, as well as to lead 
him to a more minute acquaintance with the history of America. These 
arc expected to be studied after the student shall have learned those 
which are placed in the body of* the work. 






SECTION L 



EARLIEST AUTHENTICK RECORDS. ANTIQUITY OF THE SCRIP- 
TURES, PRIMEVAL AGES. 

1. History is a connected narrative of past and present 
events : it traces the progress of men from a savage state to 
a state of civilization ; and is a register of his experience in 
all ages, as well as a source of practical wisdom to legislators 
and statesmen, and of instruction and amusement to all class- 
es of men. When we contemplate the great outlines of his- 
tory, and reflect upon the important events which have formed 
the present aspect of the world, we may find abundant matter 
for observation. 

2. History may be divided into General and Particular, 
Ancient and Modern. General history regards all the nations 
of the world, as one great family, united by a similarity in 
their form and features, as well as in their pursuits, wants, 
and interests. Particular history regards each nation or 
kingdom separately, and details the events which regard that 
nation or kingdom only, except as connected with other na- 
tions, and influenced by them. General history may also be 
divided into civil and ecclesiastical ; the former, regards men 
in their several relations to each other ; the latter, considers 
them as acting, or professing to act, in obedience to what they 
consider to be the will of God. 

3. The books of Moses afford the earliest authentick ac- 
count of the ages subsequent to the deluge. No other wri- 
tings can compete the claim of antiquity with them. Moses 
lived more than one thousand years before Herodotus, the 
reputed father of Grecian history; and the Greeks themselves 
admit the priority of the Hebrew writers, for the Greeks ac- 

2 



10 ANCIENT HISTORY, 

knowledge that they received the alphabet from the Phoeni- 
cians, who, in all probability, received it from the Jews. 

4. The creation of the world and of man ; the confusion 
of tongues, and the origin of nations, are some of the events 
recorded in the Scriptures, of which no other book gives us 
any account. From the same source, we are informed, that 
a deluge of water has once overwhelmed the earth, and de- 
stroyed all its inhabitants, except eight persons. We learn 
also from the Scriptures, that subsequent to the deluge, while 
as yet all men spake one language, they united in a design, 
which being displeasing to God, he, by an immediate and 
direct exertion of his power, caused among them a diversity 
of speech, so that of necessity, they arranged themselves into 
different tribes, or clans, and were dispersed over the earth. 

5. Nineveh and Babylon, two of the most ancient cities of 
which we have any record, were built about one hundred and 
fifty years after the deluge. Nimrod, who is the Belus of pro- 
fane history, built Babylon, and is said in Scripture to have 
been "a mighty hunter ;" and it is not improbable, that by his 
courage and intrepidity, he raised himself to the dignity of 
command. Nineveh was built by Ashur, and it became in 
after-ages the capital of the Assyrian empire, and tho proud 
rival of Babylon. From the death of Ninias, down to the 
revolt of the Medes, a period of eight hundred years, we 
find a chasm in the Babylonian and Assyrian history ; and 
this we are obliged to supply from conjecture. 

6. Menes, the Misraim of the Scriptures, was probably 
the first king of Egypt. He was the grandson of Noah, 
and invented the arts, as well as civilized a great part of the 
eastern world. But the early parts of Egyptian history, are 
involved in the same obscurity as the Assyrian. It seems 
probable, that after Egypt had attained a good degree of ci- 
vilization, the kingdom relapsed into a state of semi-barba- 
rism, in which it continued during some centuries, till the 
time of Sesostris, 1650 years before Christ, by whom the 
different principalities were reduced to one kingdom, and it* 
polity regulated. 

7. But of the primeval ages of the world, little can be 
known. Of the antediluvians, we know only what is recorded 
in the books of Moses, and that is by no means sufficient to 
gratify curiosity. Mankind, while in a state of nature, even 
if acquainted with the art of writing, would have but few 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 11 

things worthy of transmission to posterity, while all their care 
and exertions would be necessary to provide sustenance. But 
our own experience, in some degree, supplies the want of 
historick record, respecting the early ages of man. Experi- 
ence of the necessity of a shelter from summer heats and 
winter storms, leads us with reason to infer, that the erection 
of habitations would be an object of early attention. The same 
may be inferred in regard to the cultivation of the soil, and the 
practice of those arts, most essential to comfortable existence. 

8. Traditionary tales, transmitted from father to son, were pro- 
bably the first rude sketches of history ; and these do in fact con- 
stitute the basis of the early historical records. The fabulous 
relations of the first historians among the Greeks, are of this 
character. The Egyptians were accustomed to allegorize 
the early periods of their history, as well as of their religion ; 
and the Greeks, adopting these historical legends, and in many 
cases mistaking their design and meaning, have transmitted to 
the world a narrative of fabulous kings, and imaginary heroes. 

9. Till about 503 years before Christ, little credit is to be 
given to profane history. At this period, the Greeks had at- 
tained a degree of civilization by no means inconsiderable, 
and had begun to cultivate the arts. But none of their histo- 
rick records can be considered as authentick before the Per- 
sian war. Previous to that event, true history is so blended 
with fable, as not to be separated. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What is History ?—2. How may History be divided ? — 3. What 
books afford the earliest authentick account of the ages immediately 
subsequent to the deluge ?— 4. What are some of the events recorded 
in the Scriptures, of which we have no account in any other book? — 
5. What two cities were built about one hundred and fifty years after 
the deluge ? — 6. Who was the first king of Egypt ? — 7. W hat is known 
of the primeval ages ? — 8. What were probably the first rude sketches 
of history? — 9. Till about what time is little credit to be given to profane 
history ? 

SECTION II. 

NATURE OF THE EARLY GOVERNMENTS. 

1. The patriarchal form of government obtained in the 
early periods of society. From this to a monarchy the 
transition was easy ; and the regal office probably passed from 
father to son. The sovereign ruled his people as the patri- 
arch of a family, by right of birth. 



12 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

2. Weakness was probably a characteristic!* of the firs? 
monarchies ; and we may conclude their territories were very 
limited. According to modern ideas, extended territory, and 
vast power, is attached to the title of king ; and hence, wc 
are liable to be deceived in our notions respecting the early 
monarchies. 

3. The kings of the h storick parts of Scripture, were no 
more than the chiefs of tribes ; but we may probably except 
some of the last of the kings of Assyria and of Babylon. 
Joshua, in the wars of Canaan, defeated thirty-one kings : 
Abraham five, in the valley of salt ; and Adonizedek tells 
Joshua that seventy conquered kings gathered their meat un- 
der his table. 

4. Extreme severity was probably characteristick of flic 
first penal laws ; for the more barbarous the people, the 
stronger must be the restraints imposed. This position is 
supported by a reference to the early laws of the nations of 
antiquity, of which we have any information. 

5. Laws relative to marriage, were the earliest enacted. 
The institution of marriage took place on the first formation 
of society, and the earliest I tws encouraged matrimony. 

6. Among ancient nations, the husband purchased his 
wife, and marriageable women among the Assyrians were 
sold at auction ; the price of the more beautiful being given 
to the more ordinary as a dowry. 

7. Laws of succession succeeded next in order to those of 
marriage. Though the power of every father was absolute 
in the division of his estate, yet primogeniture was supposed 
to confer certain rights. We may learn this from the his ton 
of Esau and Jacob. 

8. A publick transaction in the presence of the tribe, was 
necessary to render valid all contracts, sales, &c, before the 
invention of writing, and in some cases afterwards. Thus 
Abraham, when he purchased a burying place of the sons of 
Heth, did it in the presence of his people. 

9. Poetry and song were used by the ancients for publish- 
ing remarkable events, and also for transmitting them to pos- 
terity. Thus the children of Israel, after the passage of the 
Red Sea, composed a song ; also Deborah and Barak after 
the defeat of Sisera. The ::ume practice has prevailed among 
almost all nations, previous to the introduction of writing. 
Monuments of stone, and mounds of earth, were also often 



♦ ANCIENT HISTORY. 13 

erected for the same purpose. Thus Joshua set up twelve 
stones, taken from the midst of Jordan, to preserve the me- 
mory of the passage of the Israelites through that river. 

10. Religious institutions were the earliest among man- 
kind. The idea of a God, who creates, preserves, and go- 
verns, is deeply rooted in the human mind. The construc- 
tion and order of nature, every where visible, will lead even 
the rudest savage to infer the existence of God, and an expe- 
rience of his own wants and weakness, an experience daily 
recurring, will lead him to some reverence for the unknown 
and unseen power upon which he is dependant. 

11. The chief or monarch, anciently exercised the office 
of priest ; but as the tribe became numerous, a deputy would 
be appointed. In process of time these deputies became a 
distinct order. The Israelites had no distinct order of priests 
till after the Exodus. 

12. Necessity undoubtedly gave birth to the most useful 
arts. Men early felt the necessity of a shelter ; hence the 
art of erecting dwellings. They would early feel the need of 
weapons of defence, and implements of husbandry; hence 
the art of manufacturing those weapons and implements, 
rude indeed at first, but by degrees better fitted for the pur- 
poses intended. 

13. The sciences were probably the fruit of ease and lei- 
sure. Till men had leisure from the chase, or from the pur- 
suits of agriculture, they would not turn their attention to the 
study of speculative subjects. The priests, being maintained 
in that state by the monarch which would invite to reflection, 
were the first who cultivated science. All learning among 
the Egyptians, was confined solely to the priests. 

14. Astronomy and medicine were among the earliest sci- 
ences. Superstition would lead to the cultivation of the for- 
mer } and the ills experienced in consequence of wounds and 
sickness, would lead to the study and practice of the latter. 
A pharmacy suited to their wants, is found among all rude 
nations ; but luxury, by creating new diseases, causes a ne- 
cessity for a more profound knowledge of medicine, and of 
the construction of the human system. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What form of government obtained in the early periods of the 
world? — 2. What was a charaeteristick of the first monarchies ?— 3. 
Of what rank were the kings of Scripture ?— 4. What was probably 
2* 



14 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

a characteristick of the first penal laws ? — 5. What were the earliest 
laws ? — 6. How among ancient nations did the husband obtain his 
wife? — 7. What laws succeeded those of marriage? — 8. What rendered 
contracts valid among the ancients ? — 9. What were used by the ancients 
to publish remarkable events, and perpetuate their memory? — 10. 
What were among the earliest institutions ? — 11. Who anciently exer- 
cised the priesthood ? — 12. What probably gave birth to the most use- 
ful arts ? — 13. What were probably the fruit of ease and leisure ? — 14, 
What were the earliest sciences ? 

■i i ii t ^ 0k AiiiiM* 

SECTION III. 

THE EGYPTIANS AND PHOENICIANS. 

1. Four hundred and thirty years after the deluge, Egypt 
is represented as being a great and nourishing kingdom. Pro- 
bably, therefore, it was settled soon after the confusion of 
tongues at Babel. 

2. The fertile nature of the country, annually overflowed 
by the river Nile, is a strong evidence of the antiquity of the 
Egyptian empire. With a world before them where to choose, 
when dispersed by the confusion of languages, men would 
naturally select those spots where agriculture could be most 
easily practised. 

3. The government of Egypt was a hereditary monarchy. 
But the power of the sovereign was limited by constitutional 
regulations, and the functions of his office were partly civil, 
and partly religious. His authority was, however, in many 
respects, extremely despotick. 

4. Uncommon severity was a striking feature in the penal 
laws of Egypt. Rigorous decrees protected female chastity. 

5. A judicial decree was necessary to the conferring of 
funeral rites. This decree was not passed till after a strict 
investigation into the character of the deceased. Even their 
kings were subject to this regulation. 

6. The body of his father was pledged by the borrower of 
money, to the lender, and was deprived of funeral rites, if the 
money was not punctually repaid. 

7. Architecture, geometry, and astronomy, were much cul- 
tivated by the Egyptians, and brought to a good degree of 
perfection. 

8. The Pyramids, to this day, remain as specimens of their 
skill in architecture. These are supposed to have been erect* 
ed nine hundred years before Christ. 



ANCIENT HISTORY- 15 

9. The national character of the Egyptians was low and 
despicable among surrounding nations. They were not 
known by their conquests ; they had little commerce, and 
manifested a strong antipathy to the persons and manners of 
foreigners. 

10. The Canaanites, as the Phoenicians are called in Scrip- 
ture, were among the earliest civilized nations of the east. 
They are, however, not so ancient as the Egyptians, though 
nearly so. 

11. The invention of writing, and the art of navigation, 
are to be attributed to them. 

12. Fourteen hundred and fifty years before Christ, is the 
date of the most ancient Phoenician writings ; being the most 
ancient of any extant, except the books of Moses. 

13. The Phoenicians were a commercial people in the time 
of Abraham. In the time of the Hebrew judges they had 
begun to colonize. They settled Cyprus and Rhodes ; and 
then passed into Greece, Sicily, Sardinia, and Spain. They 
had settlements also on the west coast of Africa. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. How early is Egypt represented as being a great and flourishing 
kingdom? — 2. What constitutes a strong evidence of the antiquity of 
Egypt? — 3. What form of government was established in Egypt? — ■ 
4. What was a striking feature in the Egyptian penal laws ? — 5. What 
was necessary to the conferring of funeral rites ? — 6. What did the 
borrower of money pledge to the lender as security for payment 
of the sum borrowed ? — 7. What were much cultivated among the 
Egyptians ? — 8. What at present exist as monuments of their skill in 
architecture? — 9. In what estimation was the Egyptian character 
among surrounding nations? — 10: By what name are the Phoeni- 
cians known in Scripture ? — 11. What inventions are to be atributed 
to them ? — 12. What is the date of the most ancient Phoenician wri- 
tings? — 13. What is said of the Phoenicians in the time of Abraham ! 

SECTION IV. 

GREECE. 

1. The Egyptians and Phoenicians first sent colonies into 
Greece ; and introduced the first rudiments of civilization 
among the Pelasgi, the Hiantes, and the Leleges, the ancient 
barbarous inhabitants of the country. This occurred about 
the time of Moses. 



16 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

2. Ceerops, fifteen hundred and eighty-two years before 
Christ, settled a colony in Attica, and built twelve cities. He 
was an eminent law-giver and politician, and instituted the 
court of Areopagus. 

3. Amphictyon, first established the Amphictyonick council. 
This was at first a league of twelve cities, but at length be- 
came a representative assembly, and produced good political 
effects. 

4. Cadmus, fifteen hundred and nineteen years before 
Christ, introduced alphabetical writing into Greece from 
Phoenicia. 

5. Sixteen letters then constituted the alphabet, and the 
method of writing was alternately from right to left, and from 
left to right. This was termed boustrophedon. 

6. The aborigines of Greece were cannibals, it is said, 
ignorant of the use of fire, and barbarous in the extreme. 

7. Superstition was a predominant trait in the character of 
the Greeks. This led them to establish, in honour of their 
gods, solemn games and oracles. 

8. Olympick, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian, were the 
names of their four solemn festivals ; and each had ceremo- 
nies peculiar to itself. Excellent political effects were pro- 
duced by these festivals, as they promoted national union, 
diffused the love of glory, and trained the youth to martial 
exercises. 

9. Erechtheus, the leader of a new Egyptian colony, insti- 
tuted the Eleusinian mysteries, in imitation of the Egyptian 
games of Isis. 

10. These mysteries were of a religious and moral nature : 
and conveyed the doctrines of the unity of God, the immor- 
tality of the soul, and a state of future rewards and punish- 
ments. 

11. Theseus laid the foundation of the grandeur of Attica. 
He united the twelve cities, and gave them a common con- 
stitution, and thus bound them in one common bond. 

12. To open the commerce of the Euxine sea, and secure 
establishments on its coasts, the Argonautick expedition 
was undertaken, and w r as the first great enterprise of the 
Greeks. 

13. Extremely rude and imperfect, were all the warlike 
expeditions of the Greeks, and of all ancient nations. Sieges 
in those days, were of the nature of blockades at present. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 17 

14. Homer furnishes all the authority upon which we can 
rest the details of the seige of Troy, which was taken 1184 
years before Christ. - 

15. Spring and summer were the seasons of the year best 
adapted to ancient warfare ; and perhaps to this fact. Scrip- 
ture writers refer, when they say " At the time when kings 
use to go out to war." 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who first sent colonies into Greece ? — 2. Who settled a colony in 
Attica, and when? — 3, Who established the Amphictyonick council ?-4. 
Who introduced alphabetical writing into Greece, and when?— -5. How 
many letters then constituted the alphabet ?— 6. What is said of the 
aborigines of Greece? — 7. W T hat was a predominant trait in the Gre- 
cian character ? — 8. What were the names of their four solemn festi- 
vals ? — 9. Who instituted the Eleusinian mysteries ? — 10. What was 
their nature? — 11. Who laid the foundation of the grandeur of Atti- 
ca? — 12. What was the object of the Argonautick expedition? — 18* 
What was the character of all ancient warlike expeditions ? — 14. Who 
furnishes all the authority upon which to rest the seige of Troy ? — 15, 
What seasons of the year were best adapted to ancient warfare ? 

— •»►*© o ©<«««— 

SECTION V. 

GRECIAN COLONIES AND REPUBLICKS. 

1 . About one thousand years before Christ, the Greeks, 
being greatly oppressed at home, determined to send out 
colonies : and accordingly they founded twelve cities in 
Lesser Asia, of which Smyrna was chief. 

2. Being weary of monarchy, the Athenians, about the 
same time changed their government, and established a re- 
publick, choosing Medon, the son of Codras, their Archon or 
chief magistrate. 

3. Lycurgus and Solon, two distinguished civilians, arose 
about this time ; and by their wisdom and abilities, contribu- 
ted much to the prosperity of the new republicks. 

4. Lycurgus, about 900 years before Christ, was invested 
with the power of reforming the laws and government of 
Sparta, which was his native country. 

5. The regulation of manners was the first object of his 
attention; and one great 'principle ran through his whole 
system, which was to banish luxury, the bane of society, from 
his people, 



lb ANCIENT HISTORY. 

6. The territory was divided into equal portions ; in which 
every free citizen shared alike. The number of these por- 
tions amounted to thirty-nine thousand. 

7. Iron money was substituted for silver and gold, in order 
to lessen or destroy avarice among his people. 

8. Slaves only were permitted to exercise the arts necessa- 
ry to life ; while all useless ones, and even commerce itself, 
was prohibited. 

9. All the embellishments of the understanding, were re- 
jected by the Spartan mode of education. It taught obedi- 
ence to the laws, respect for parents, reverence for age, and 
deep regard for the duties of religion. 

10. Looseness of manners among the women, the encour- 
agement of theft, and inhumanity to slaves, were blemishes in 
the institutions of Lycurgus ; which had no other end than 
the formation of a nation of soldiers. 

11. The office of Ephori, who were magistrates chosen by 
the people, and whose power was in some respects paramount 
to that of the kings and senate, was a fault in the Spartan 
constitution ; and on many occasions produced the worst 
consequences. 

12. The change in the Athenian constitution was more 
nominal than real, when the regal office was abolished. 

13. A perpetual and hereditary magistracy was establish- 
ed, called the Archonship. This lasted three hundred years, 
and then nine Archons were chosen to hold the office ten 
years. 

14. Draco, chosen Archon in the year six hundred and 
twenty-four before Christ, projected a reform in the constitu- 
tion, but was unsuccessful. 

15. Solon, an illustrious Athenian, was chosen Archon 
in the year five hundred and ninety-four before Christ, and 
was entrusted with the care of forcriing a new constitution for 
his country, and a new system of laws. 

16. He possessed extensive knowledge, but wanted intre- 
pidity of mind ; and being mild and temporizing, accommo- 
dated his system to the prevailing habits and passions of his 
countrymen. 

17. Four classes were formed of the people; the three 
first enjoying all the offices of government ; but the fourth, 
or poorest class, had an equal right of suffrage with the three 
first, and being the most numerous, decided every question. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 19 

18. A senate of four hundred members was chosen, which 
was intended as a balance to the weight of popular influence. 
This number was afterwards increased to 500 or 600, 

19. In regard to slaves and debtors, a distinguishing trait 
of the Athenian laws, was mildness and equity ; but the 
Athenian women were in a degrading state of vassallage. 

20. The practice of the ostracism, was one of the most 
absurd and oppressive, which was tolerated by the Athenian 
constitution. By this, any citizen, wrote the name of the 
man whom he thought worthy of censure, upon a ticket, and 
he who was thus marked out by the greatest number of voices, 
was banished for ten years. 

21. The greatest attention was paid to the fine arts, at 
Athens ; while at Lacedemon, they were entirely discounte- 
nanced. Of course, the former greatly excelled in them. 

22. Five hundred and fifty years before Christ, Athens 
surrendered her liberties to Pisistratus, who established a 
splendid monarchy, and entirely gaining the affections of his 
people, left a peaceable crown to his sons, Hippias and Hip- 
parchus. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. When did the Greeks begin to send out colonies? — 2. Why did 
the Athenians change their constitution ? — 3. What distinguished ci- 
vilians arose about this time ? — 4. AVho was invested with the power 
of reforming the laws and government of Sparta, his native country ? 
— 5. What was the first object of his attention ? — 6. How was the 
Spartan territory divided ? — 7. What was used as money instead of 
gold and silver ? — 8. Who exercised the arts necessary to life in Spar- 
ta? — 9. What were rejected by the Spartan mode of education ? — 10, 
What are mentioned as blemishes in the system of Lycurgus ? — 11. 
What was a fault in the Spartan constitution ? — 12. What is said of 
the change in the Athenian constitution when the regal office was 
abolished ? — 13. What was the Archonship ? — 14. Who was chosen 
Archon 624 years before Christ, and projected a reform in the govern™ 
ment ? — 15. Who was chosen Archon 594 years before Christ ? — 16. 
W T hat is said of him? — 17. How many classes of people were formed^ 
— 18. What was introduced as a balance to popular influence ? — 19 
In what particulars were the Athenian laws distinguished for mildness 
and equity ? — 20. What absurd and oppressive practice did the Athe- 
nian constitution tolerate? — 21. What attention was paid to the fine 
arts at Athens ? — 22. When did Athens surrender her liberties to Pi 
sisiratfts 7 



20 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

SECTION VI. 

PERSIAN EMPIRE, TILL THE WAR WITH GREECE. 

1. Under Sardanapalus, the first Assyrian empire ended, 
and upon its ruins, the monarchies Ninevah, Babylon and 
Media arose. 

2. Very little is known of the history of the two former of 
these monarchies, especially of the first. From Scripture, 
however, we learn that it was a powerful kingdom. 

3. Nebuchodonosor II., king of Assyria, conquered Judea, 
and took the cities of Jerusalem and Tyre. He also subdued 
Egypt. 

4. In the person of Cyrus, the kingdoms of Persia and 
Media were united. He vanquished the Babylonians and 
Lydians, subdued the greater part of Lesser Asia, and 
became master of Syria and Arabia. 

5. Darius, the son of Hystaspes, after the death of Camby- 
ses, the son of Cyrus, was elected sovereign of Persia. He 
was a person of great enterprise and ambition, and readily 
undertook an expedition against Greece, at the suggestion of 
Hippias, who had been expelled from the sovereignty of Athens. 

6. The lonians had been aided in throwing off the yoke 
of Persia by the Athenians ; this stimulated Darius in his 
enterprise, for he desired to be avenged upon the Grecian 
states. 

7. On the plains of Marathon, the army of the Greeks met 
that of the Persians, and after a most sanguinary battle, the 
latter were defeated with great slaughter. 

8. Miltiades commanded the Greeks, and by his bravery 
and judgement, contributed greatly to their success in the 
battle. 

9. The most shocking ingratitude from his country was all 
the reward bestowed upon his merit; for being unjustly 
accused of treason, he was sentenced to die. The sentence, 
however, was changed to a fine of fifty talents, but being una- 
ble to pay it, he Was thrown into prison, where he died. 

10. Themistocles and Aristides succeeded Miltiades in 
the command, and ably sustained the war against the Persians. 

11. Xerxes, the son and successor of Darius, inherited all 
his father's ambition, and pushed the war with greater force 
end vigour. 



ANCIENT HISTORY, 2i 

12. Five millions of men were now armed against the small 
states of Greece, and threatened them with utter ruin. 

13. Leonidas, king of Sparta, was chosen to defend, with 
six thousand men, the narrow pass of Thermopylae, through 
which alone it was possible for the Persian army to enter 
Greece. 

14. For two days, the whole strength of the Persians was 
brought against this pass, but without success. At length* 
treachery performed that which force could not effect. 

15. A peasant showed the Persians a path, which led to 
the top of the hill commanding the pass ; and by that mean* 
Leonidas and his brave band were surrounded and destroyed. 

16. At Salamis an engagement took place between the 
Greek and Persian fleets, in which Xerxes, who from an emi- 
nence beheld the action, had the mortification of seeing his 
fleet entirely dispersed. The Greeks had 380 ships, and the 
Persians 1200. 

17. At Platae, the army of Xerxes, under Mardonius, con- 
sisting of 300,000 men, was totally defeated by the combined 
forces of the Athenians and the Lacedaemonians, four hun- 
dred and seventy-nine years before Christ. 

18. Xerxes was soon after assassinated, and thus termi- 
nated an inglorious reign, distinguished more for the rashness 
of his schemes, and his vast preparations, than for any suc- 
cess of his arms. His son Artaxerxes Longimanus succee- 
ded him, four hundred and sixty-four years before Christ. 

19. The national character of the Greeks was at this time 
very high. Common danger and common interests had ex« 
tinguished all jealousies between the states, and united them 
in mutual defence. 

20. Pericles, after the Persian war, governed Athens with, 
almost arbitrary sway ; and as Athens at this time pretended 
to have the command of Greece, he was in effect master of 
the country. 

21. The Athenians taking part with the people of Corcyra, 
an ancient colony of Corinth, which had rebelled, the latter 
city was offended, and war was declared between Athens and 
Lacedaemon. 

22. This is called the Peloponesian war, which lasted 
4wenty-eight years, with various and alternate success. 
Thucydides has left an account of this war. 

23* The absolute submission of Athens, which had been 
3 



22 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

reduced to the last extremity by the defeat of their army at ' 
Potarnos, by Lysander, at length ended the war, and made 
the Lacedsemonians masters of Greece. 

24. The execution of Socrates, which took place about 
this time, at Athens, reflected far more dishonour upon that 
city, than their national humiliation. He was the pattern oi" 
every virtue which he taught, and died with a manly fortitude, 

25. Xenophon having gone with a Grecian army into Per- 
sia, to assist Cyrus in dethroning his brother, was defeated 
and obliged to retreat across the country from Babylon to 
theEuxine sea, a distance of 1600 miles. A minute history of 
the expedition was written by Xenophon, but he is considered 
as giving too flattering an account of the character of Cyrus. 

QUESTIONS* 

1. Under whom did the first Assyrian empire end ? — 2. What is 
known of the history of the three monarchies which arose from the 
ruins of the first Assyrian empire? — 3. What king of Assyria con 
quered Judea and Egypt, and took Jerusalem and Tyre ? — 4. In whose 
person were the kingdoms of Persia and Media united ? — 5. Who was 
elected king of Persia after the death of Cambyses, the son of Cyrus ? 
— 6. What led Darius to make war against the Greeks ? — 7. Where 
were the Persians totally defeated ? — 8. Who commanded the Greeks 
in the battle of Marathon ? — 9. What reward did the merit of Miltiades 
receive? — 10. Who succeeded Miltiades in the command of the Gre- 
cian forces ? — 11. What king of Persia pushed the war against the 
Greeks? — 12. Of how many men did his army consist? — 13. Who 
commanded the Greeks at the pass of Thermopylae ? — 14. For how 
many days did the Persians attack Leonidas with their whole force ? — 
15. How came Leonidas to be surrounded and destroyed? — 16. Where 
did a naval engagement occur between the Grecian and Persian fleets ? 
— 17. Where was the army of Xerxes totally destroyed? — 18. What 
became of Xerxes ? — 19. What is said of the national character of the 
Greeks at this time ? — 20. Who governed Athens after the Persian war ? 
— 21. What gave rise to the war between Athens and Lacedsemon ? — 
22. What is this war called ?— 23. What ended the Peloponesian war ? 
— 24. What disgraceful event took place at Athens at this time ? — 25 
Who led a Grecian army from Babylon to the Euxine sea, and wrote 
a history of the expedition ? 



SECTION TIL 

PHILIP OF MACEDON. ALEXANDER THE GREAT. FALL OI 

GRllECE. 

1. Philip of Macedon, taking advantage of the decline of 
Grecian patriotism and love of glory, formed the project of 
extending his dominion ov A ,r the whole of Greece. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 23 

2. The perpetual quarrels and jealousies between the Gre- 
cian states, greatly farthered his design, and inspired him with 
hopes of success. 

3. Demosthenes, the celebrated orator, penetrated the de- 
signs of Philip, and exposed them to the Grecian states : but 
his attempt to rouse them, proved unsuccessful. 

4. At the battle of Choronsea, the fate of Greece was deci- 
ded, and all the states submitted to the king of Macedon, 
three hundred and thirty-seven years before Christ. 

5. The conquest of Persia next occupied the attention of 
Philip ; and all the Grecian states were called upon to furnish 
aid for the enterprise. 

6. He was assassinated, however, on the eve of this enter- 
prise, in revenge for a private injury, by Pausanias, a captain 
of his guards, three hundred and thirty-six years before Christ. 

7. Alexander, surnamed the Great, the son of Philip, 
succeeded to the throne of Macedon, and to the dominion of 
Greece ; and convoking the states at Corinth, he informed 
them of his resolution to prosecute the war against the 
Persians, as his father had proposed. 

8. His army consisted of thirty thousand foot, and ten 
thousand horse ; and he immediately crossed the Hellespont, 
to invade the Persian territories. 

9. .Darius Codomanus, who was king of Persia at this time, 
resolving to crush at once this bold youth, assembled one 
hundred thousand foot, and ten thousand horse, on the Persian 
banks of the Granicus ; while Alexander drew up his compara- 
tively small army, upon the opposite shore. 

10. The Greeks swimming the river, Darius was defeated 
after an obstinate battle ; the Persians leaving twenty thou- 
sand dead upon the field, and making a precipitate retreat. 

11. Near the town of Issus, in Cilicia, another battle was 
fought, in which the army of Darius, amounting now to four 
hundred thousand, was totally routed, and one hundred and 
ten thousand of them left dead on the field. The Greeks 
lost only four hundred and fifty men. 

12. All Syria now submitted to Alexander, who also took 
the city of Damascus, where Darius had deposited all his 
treasures, which also fell into the hands of the victor. 

13. At Arbela, Darius having assembled an army of seven 
hundred thousand men, again offered battle to Alexander, 
after having proposed terms of peace, which were haughtily 
rejected* 



24 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

14. The Persians were again defeated, with the loss of three 
hundred thousand men ; and Darius, flying from province to 
province, was murdered by one of his own satraps, or gove- 
nours. Persia now submitted to Alexander, three hundred 
and thirty years before Christ. 

15. The conquest of India was now projected by Alexan- 
der; being firmly persuaded that the sovereignty of the world 
was decreed to him. 

16. He penetrated as far as the Ganges, and would have 
pursued his course to the eastern ocean, had the spirits of his 
troops been equal to his ambition. But seeing no end to their 
toils, they refused to proceed, and forced him to give over his 
mad enterprise and return home. 

17. He died in a fit of debauch, at Babylon, in the thirty- 
third year of his age, and the thirteenth of his reign, three 
hundred and twenty-four years before Christ. 

18. He was a great military genius, but not a profound 
politician. His moral character was corrupted by a constant 
train of uninterrupted success, while flattery stimulated him 
to uncontrolled indulgence. 

19. Alexander named no successor, but on his death-bed, 
gave his ring to Perdiccas. When asked by his courtiers 
who should succeed him ; he replied, " the most worthy." 

20. Four great monarchies were formed from the empire 
of Alexander, under Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and 
Seleucus. The family of Alexander was totally excluded. 

21. Demosthenes, after the death of Alexander, once more 
attempted to rouse the spirit of his countrymen to shake oft* 
the yoke. But he was unsuccessful. 

22. A disgusting series of revolutions is all that Greece 
presents from this time ; with the exception of the states of 
Achaia, which made one effort to rekindle the expiring flame 
of liberty. 

23. The Roman empire was now fast rising in strength, 
and becoming the most powerful among contemporary na- 
tions. A favourable opportunity soon presenting, a Roman 
army was led into Greece, and Macedonia was conquered. 

24. Mummius, the consul of Rome, following up the suc- 
cesses of Metellus his predecessor, completed the conquest of 
the country ; and Greece became a Roman province, one 
hundred and forty-six years before Christ. 

25. The infant periods of Grecian history, present those 



ANCIENT HISTORY, 29 

splendid examples of patriotism and virtue, with the contem- 
plation of which we are delighted. In the more advanced 
years, the genius and spirit of the people seem to have un- 
dergone a total change. 

26. An enthusiastick admiration of the fine arts succeeded 
the ardour of patriotism, and the thirst for military glory ; and 
by their success in the cultivation of those arts, the Greeks 
continued to excite admiration, long after their glory as a 
nation had departed. 

27. The necessary and useful arts of life, did not receive 
the greatest attention orthe greatest improvement at Athens. 
Agriculture, manufactures or commerce, received but little 
attention, and in these they were but little distinguished. 

28. Architecture, sculpture, and painting, were cultivated 
with the greatest care« and carried to a very high degree of 

erfection. 

29. They had three orders of architecture ; the Dorick, 
the Ionick, and the Corinthian. The first was adapted to 
works of magnitude and sublimity ; the second was light 
and elegant ; while the third was pompous and splendid. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who formed the project of extending his dominion over the states 
of Greece? — 2. What circumstances greatly promoted his design? — 
3, Who penetrated the designs of ^Philip? — 4. Where was the fate of 
Greece decided? — 5. What next occupied the attention of Philip? — 
6. What became of him ? — 7. Who succeeded to his throne and pro- 
jects? — 8. Of how many men did his army consist? — 9. Who, at this 
time, was king of Persia? — 10. What was the result of the battle at 
the Granicus? — 11. Where was Darius again defeated ?— 12. What 
was the consequence of the battle of Issus ? — 13. At what place did Da- 
rius again offer Alexander battle ? — 14. Who were defeated ? — 15. 
What did Alexander now project? — 16. How far did he penetrate? — 
17. What was the end of Alexander?— 18. What is said of him ?— 19. 
What settlement did he make in regard to a successor? — 20. How 
many monarchies arose out of his empire? — 21. Who, after the death 
of Alexander, attempted to rouse the spirit of the Greeks? — 22. What 
scene does Greece present at this time? — 23. What empire now rose 
into importance? — 24. Who completed the conquest 'of Greece?— 
25. What do the early periods of Grecian history present ? — 26. What 
passion succeeded the ardour of patriotism among the Greeks ? — 27. 
What arts received but little attention in Greece ? — 28. Which of the 
fine arts were cultivated with the greatest care and success ?— 29. How 
many orders of architecture had the Grecians ? 
3* 



36 ANCIENT HISTORY- 

SECTION VIIL 

THE HISTORY OF ROME. 

1. The Roman empire, from the fall of Greece, claims a 
prominent place in ancient history. In its rise and fall, its 
history will embrace a collateral notice of most of the other 
nations of antiquity. 

2. A refined and cultivated nation, probably inhabited 
Italy before the Roman name was known. This was the 
Etruscan ; and many monuments still exist, which prove 
that nation to have been luxurious and highly polished. 

3. Romulus, founded, or perhaps rebuilt Rome, in the 
year 752 before Christ. The first settlers were shepherds or 
banditti, who peopled their new city by carrying off the wives 
and daughters of the Sabines, their neighbours. 

4. Numa, a Sabine by birth, was chosen king of Rome, 
on the death of Romulus, which happened in the thirty-eighth 
year of his reign. Numa was of a pious and pacifick dispo- 
sition, and endeavoured to impress the same character upon 
his people. He reigned forty-eight years. 

5. Tarquinius Priscus, the fifth king of Rome, added one 
hundred plebians to the senate ; and that body now consisted 
of three hundred members, at which number it remained for 
some time. 

6. Servius Tullius, removed the poorer citizens from all 
share in the government, and caused its cares and its bur- 
dens to fall solely upon the rich. 

7. Two hundred and forty-four years, the regal form ot 
government continued at Rome, under seven kings. Tar- 
quinius the Proud, was the last king, and was expelled the 
country for his abominable cruelty and tyranny. 

8. The consular government, was then substituted in the 
place of the regal, and Brutus and Collatinus chosen consuls. 
This was that Brutus, who, finding that his two sons were 
engaged in a conspiracy to restore Tarquin, caused them to 
be beheaded in his presence. 

9. The Valerian law, gave the first blow to the aristocracy 
at Rome. This law gave any one the right of appeal to the 
people, from the decisions of the magistrate. Owing to this 
law, the power of the consuls was of little avail ; and in a 
Avar with the Etrurians, it well nigh ruined the city. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. m 

10. A dictator was chosen, as the means of remedying the 
evil, whose power was to continue six months, and be for 
that time unlimited and uncontrolled. 

11. Lartius was first chosen to this office ; and arming his 
twenty-four lictors with axes, he summoned all the people to 
the comitia, and compelled, under penalty of death, every one 
whom he judged fit, to enrol himself in the army. 

12. To appease the army, which was disgusted with the 
pride and arrogance of the patricians, the office of tribune was 
created. This disgust rose to such a height, that although 
the city was in the utmost danger from the enemy, the whole 
army carrying their standards with them, departed out of it, 
leaving the haughty faction to defend itself. 

13. The tribunes had power to annul or suspend the de- 
crees of the senate and the consuls ; but they had no guards, 
neither did their power extend but a mile from the city. The 
creating of this office nearly rendered the senate and consuls 
a mere nullity, and placed the whole power in the hands of the 
plebians, from which order the tribunes were chosen. 

14. Four hundred and seventy-one years before Christ, 
the government of Rome passed from the hands of the pa- 
tricians, and the constitution became decidedly a democracy. 
Yet till this time, the Romans had no code of civil laws. 

15. To prepare and digest a body of laws, and thus reme- 
dy the great defect in the government, one of the tribunes 
proposed the appointment of ten commissioners. These 
commissioners were called the Decemvirate. 

16. The laws of the twelve tables were formed, and these 
are the foundation of all Roman jurisprudence. Even in the 
most flourishing times of the republick, these laws were of 
the highest authority, and to commit them to memory, form- 
ed an essential part of a Roman liberal education. 

17. The atrocious villany of Appius Claudius, the head of 
the decemvirate, so enraged the people, that they quickly 
abolished the office, and the consuls were again restored. 

18. The law of intermarriage, by which a plebian was pro- 
hibited from connecting with a patrician, formed one barrier 
between the two orders ; and after a violent struggle, the 
plebians succeeded in inducing the senate to destroy it. 

19. The law of limitation, by which all the higher offices 
were confined to the patricians, constituted another barrier ; 



2S ANCIENT HISTORY. 

and the seriate, in a case of great emergency, partially acce- 
ded to the wishes of the people in annulling it. 

20. By raising a revenue, and giving the army regular pay, 
the whole system of Roman warfare was changed ; for till 
this time, war had not been a profession ; every citizen going 
into the army when his services were required, and defraying 
his own expenses. 

21. Veii, the rival of Rome, and her equal in pride, extent 
and population, was taken by Camillus, after a siege of ten 
years. A war with the Gauls, a branch of the great nation 
of the Celtse, next engaged the attention of the Romans. 

22. Three hundred and eighty-five years before Christ, 
Rome was taken by the Gauls, and burned. In this confla- 
gration, the Roman writers say that all the ancient records 
and monuments of their city were destroyed. 

23. Four hundred and eighty years after the building of 
the city, Rome became mistress of all Italy, by reducing the 
Samnites, the Tarentines, and all the other allied states. 

24. The vanquished were admitted into a share in the pri- 
vileges and government of Rome ; the victors thus, by a wise 
and judicious policy, soothing the pride of the conquered, and 
increasing their own strength. 

QUESTIONS, 

1. What empire upon the fall of Greece, claims a prominent place 
in ancient history? — 2. Who probably inhabited Italy before the Ro- 
mans? — 3. Who founded or rebuilt Rome? — 4. Who was chosen king 
of Rome on the death Romulus? — 5. Who added one hundred plebi- 
ans to the senate? — 6. Who removed the poorer citizens from the go- 
vernment ? — 7. How long did the regal government of Rome continue ? 
— 8. What was substituted in the place of the regal government? — 
9. What law gave the first blow to the aristocracy at Rome? — 10. 
What officer was appointed as a remedy for the evils of the Valerian 
law ? — 11. Who was first chosen dictator? — 12. Why was the office of 
tribune created? — 13. What powers had the tribunes? — 14. When did 
the government of Rome become a democracy ? — 15. Why were the 
decern virate appointed? — 16. What laws were fiprmed ? — 17. What 
caused the people to abolish the decemvirate? — 18, What was one of 
the barriers which separated the plebians and patricians ? — 19. What 
was the other barrier ? — 20. How was a change effected in the Roman 
mode of warfare ? — 21. What city was taken by Camillus, after a ten 
years' siege ? — 22. When was Rome taken by the Gauls and burned ? 
23. When did Rome become mistress of all Italy ?— 24. What policy 
did Rome pursue in regard to the vanquished ? 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 2? 

SECTION IX. 

CARTHAGE. SICILY. PUNICK WARS. 

1. A colony of Tyrians, about seventy years before the 
building of Rome, founded the city of Carthage ; which be- 
came the rival of Rome, and one of the most splendid in the 
world, having under its dominion three hundred of the smaller 
cities of Africa, bordering on the Mediterranean sea. 

2. The Phoenicians and Greeks, at an early period, had 
colonies upon the island of Sicily. The latter built Syra- 
cuse, which became an important city, under a monarchial 
government. 

3. Sicily had long been considered as the granary of Ita- 
ly ; and as the Carthagenians possessed considerable territo- 
ries on the island, it was natural for the Romans to dispute 
with them the entire dominion of so important an acquisition* 

4. The Punick wars arose from differences concerning the 
dominion of this island ; and the contest was long and bloody, 
ending in the final subjugation of Carthage. 

5. At Messina, a Sicilian town, the first Punick war com- 
menced. This city belonged to Syracuse, and having been 
attacked by the Mamertines, the Syracusians called in the 
assistance of the Romans. 

6. The consul Regulus, in the course of the war, was taken 
prisoner by the Carthagenians, and sent by them to Rome, 
to endeavour to persuade the senate to make peace ; under 
the promise, however, of returning to captivity if he failed. 
He magnanimously advised the senate against the peace, and 
returning to Carthage, according to his promise, was put to 
death in a most barbarous and cruel manner. 

7. Two hundred and twenty years before Christ, Sicily 
was declared a Roman province ; Carthage having been 
under the necessity of purchasing a peace, at the expense of 
3200 talents of silver, the restitution, without ransom, of all 
prisoners, and a promise never to make war upon Syracuse 
or her allies. 

8. Twenty-three years this peace lasted ; during which the 
Carthagenians were recruiting their strength, and preparing 
to revenge their losses and disgrace. The siege of Sagun- 
tum, which was taken, commenced the second Punick war* 

9* Hannibal, a young man of great bravery and military 
talent, was chosen to command the forces of Carthage* 



30 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

His father had made him swear, when only nine years of age ? 
eternal enmity to the Romans, and charged him to do them 
every injury which lay in his power. 

10. He determined to carry the war into Italy ; and gain- 
ing to his interest most of the Gaulick tribes, he passed over 
the Pyrenees and the Alps ; arriving in Italy, after a march 
of five months, with an army of twenty thousand foot, and six 
thousand horse. 

11. At Cannse, in Appulia, the Romans, under Emmelius 
the consul, opposed Hannibal with their whole strength, but 
were defeated, as they had been in several previous battles. 
Forty thousand Romans were left dead on the field, and had 
Hannibal marched directly to Rome, the city must have 
fallen. 

12. By sending an army to threaten Carthage, the Romans 
so alarmed the inhabitants of that city, that they speedily 
recalled Hannibal, who is said to have wept when he left 
Italy. 

13. Two hundred and twenty years before Christ, the se- 
cond Punick war closed ; the Carthagenians purchasing a 
peace by giving up Spain, Sicily, and all the islands, with 
all their fleet, except ten galleys, and paying ten thousand 
talents. 

14. The third Punick war commenced one hundred and 
forty-nine years before Christ. Carthage having suffered 
great losses, and been much weakened in a war with Numi- 
dia, was obliged to submit, and the city was razed to the 
ground, one hundred and forty-six years before Christ. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who founded Carthage, and at what time? — 2. Who, at an early 
period, had colonies in Sicily ? — 3. What had long- been considered the 
granary of Italy ? — 4 What wars arose on account of the disagree- 
ment respecting the dominion of this island ? — 5. When did the first 
Punick war commence ? — 6. Who was taken prisoner by the Cartha- 
genians, and barbarously put to death ? — 7. When was Sicily declared 
a Roman province ? — 8. How long did peace continue after the close 
of the first Punick war ? — 9. Who commanded the Carthagenians in 
ihe second Punick war ? — 10. What did he do ? — 11. Where did the 
Romans suffer a signal defeat ? — 12. How did the Romans induce the 
Carthagenians to recall Hannibal ? — 13. When was the second Punick 
war closed ?— 14. When did the third Punick war, which ended in the 
fain of Carthage, commence. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 31 



SECTION X. 

GRACCHI. CIVIL WARS. SECOND TRIUMVIRATE. FALL OF 
THE REPUBLICK. 

1. Tiberius and Cams Gracchus, two youths of noble 
family, seeing the growing corruptions of the state, project- 
ed a reform. An ancient law was attempted to be revived, 
which limiting landed property, would abridge the overgrown 
estates of the patricians. This created a tumult, in which 
three hundred friends of the Gracchi were killed. 

2. Bribery and corruption were now very common in the 
senate. Jugurtha, by destroying his cousins, Hiempsal and 
Adherbal, attempted to usurp the kingdom of Numidia ; and 
bribing the Roman senate to his interest, obtained half the 
kingdom. 

3. Sylla and Marius were at this time popular and rival 
leaders at Rome, and bitter enemies to each other. A civil 
war soon occurred, in which each faction triumphed in turn, 

4. Marius, aided by Cinna, laid siege to Rome while Sylla 
was in.Asia, and proclaiming themselves consuls, massacred 
all whom they esteemd enemies. A few days after the surren- 
der of Rome, Marius died in a fit of debauch. 

5. Sylla was afterwards chosen dictator, after having, by 
the help of Cethegus, Verres, and Pompey, then a youth, 
subdued the partisans of Marius, and restored quiet and or- 
der to the city. 

6. His administration was wise and virtuous : he restored 
the senate to its judicial authority, regulated the election to 
all important offices, and made many excellent laws against 
oppression and the abuse of power. At length he resigned his 
office, and soon after died. 

7. Lepidus and Pompey, after the death of Sylla, renewed 
the civil wars. The former was a man of no abilities, and 
Pompey, uniting his fortunes with Caesar and Crassus, formed 
the first triumvirate. 

8. Lucius Cataline, a man of headstrong passions, and 
defiled with crime, raised a conspiracy about this time, which, 
from the numbers engaged in it, for a season greatly endan- 
gered the state. 

9. Cicero, the celebrated orator, by his wise and prudent 
management, quelled the conspiracy, and Cataline was slain. 



32 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

Cicero was soon after banished to Greece by the partisans 
of Caesar, who was now evidently aiming, equally with Pom- 
pey, to the supreme authority. Pompey feeling the need of 
Cicero's influence, procured his recall. 

10. The death of Crassus dissolved the triumvirate, and 
left Caesar and Pompey at liberty, each to endeavour to gain 
the supreme power. In those degenerate days, the only 
question seemed to be, to which of these partisans Rome 
should surrender its liberties. 

11. That both should continue in power, or both resign, 
was a proposition made in the senate by the friends of Caesar 
and passed. This motion, although it had the appearance 
of great moderation, was in truth only an artifice of Caesar, 
to retain his office of dictator ; for as his term of service was 
nearly expired, while that of Pompey had but just commen- 
ced, he well knew the latter would not resign. War soon en- 
sued between these two ambitious chiefs. 

12. The senate and consuls joined Pompey, and appre- 
hending the designs of Caesar, who was yet in Gaul, passed 
a law, that any military commander who should pass the 
Rubicon, a small stream between Italy and Gaul, should be 
declared a parricide, and deemed an enemy to his country. 
Caesar, disregarding the prohibition, crossed the stream, and 
marched directly to Rome. 

13. He was now chosen dictator and consul, and thus in- 
vested with two-fold power, to act in the name of the repub- 
lick. He now marched into Spain, where he defeated the 
lieutenant of Pompey, subdued the country, and returned to 
Rome after an absence of forty days. 

14. At Pharsalia, in Macedonia, a severe and bloody bat- 
tle was fought between the two factions. •Pompey was de- 
feated with immense slaughter, and his army entirely dispers- 
ed. Twenty-four thousand men surrendered to the victor. 

15. Pompey fled into Egypt, where he was treacherously 
murdered. Caesar was now at the head of the republick, and 
without a rival ; but from that moment he ceased to be a par- 
tisan, and sought only the glory and happiness of the Roman 
people. 

16. Caesar was assassinated in the senate house, forty- 
three years before Christ, by a band of conspirators, at whose 
head was Brutus, whose life Caesar had once saved, and upon 
whom he had conferred many and great favours, 



ANCIENT HISTORY. S3 

17. Mark Antony, Octavius, and Lepidus, after the death 
of Caesar, united their interest, and formed a second triumvi- 
rate. They divided the provinces between them, each putting 
to death even his nearest friends, if required by the others. 
Antony put to death his uncle Lucius ; Lepidus, his brother 
Paulus ; and Octavius, his guardian Toranius, and his friend 
Cicero. 

18. Brutus and Cansius had a formidable army in Thrace ? 
where they made a determined stand against the triumvirate. 
An engagement occurred near the city of Philippi, in which 
Brutus and Cassius were killed, and their army totally routed, 
This battle decided the fate of the empire. 

19. Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, was summoned into Cili- 
cia by Antony, to answer for her conduct in dethroning her 
infant brother. She came to Tarsus, where her beauty and 
her arts completely subdued Antony, who from that time 
forgot glory, fame, empire, and every thing except Cleopatra , 
and thus prepared the way for his own destruction. 

20. At Actium, Octavius, who, being justly offended at the 
conduct of Antony, had declared war against him, met the 
fleet of the latter, and entirely destroying it, compelled his rival 
to flee into Egypt, whither the artful Cleopatra, through 
whose treachery the fleet had been lost, preceded him. 

21. Antony and Cleopatra both committed suicide; the 
former, in despair of regaining his kingdom ; and the latter, 
to avoid being led in triumph to Rome. Thus Octavius be- 
came sole master of the Roman empire, twenty-seven years 
before Christ. 

22. A sovereign power was given to every head of a fami- 
ly in Rome. Yet this power, great as it may seem, never 
was abused. While the head felt as a sovereign, he still re- 
membered that he was a father ; and great care was taken in 
the education of children, particularly in regard to their lan- 
guage. 

23. Eloquence was the principal study among the Roman 
youth. They were taught, that by the exercise of this talent 
alone, they might expect to rise to eminence and distinction. 
Those bodily exercises also which harden the temperament, 
and give strength and agility, were much in practice. 

24. The Romans were far from being greatly distinguished 
in regard to early literature. Previous to the conquest of 
•Greece, they were extremely rude and illiterate. 

4 



31 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

25. Sallust, Caesar, and Tacitus, were the principal Ro- 
man historians. The first of these writers is admired for the 
matter of his compositions, though he is deficient in style. 
Caesar has more purity of style and simplicity of expression 
than Sallust, but his commentaries partake more of the na- 
ture of annals than of history. 

26. Cicero is considered the prince of Roman orators. 
Many of his orations are still extant, and also some of his 
other writings. 

27. Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Tibulus, were the chief of 
the Roman poets, and were all contemporary. Virgil holds 
the same rank among the Roman poets, as Homer among 
the Greek. He is considered as the model of a correct taste. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who projected a reform in the Roman state? — 2. What were 
iiow very common in the senate ? — 3. Who at this time were popular 
and rival leaders at Rome ? — 4. Who laid siege to Rome, and proclai- 
med themselves consuls ? — 5. Who was afterwards chosen dictator ? — 
6. What is said of the administration of Sylla ? — 7. Who renewed the 
civil wars after the death of Sylla ?— 8. Who about this time raised a 
conspiracy at Rome ? — 9. Who, by his wise and prudent management 
quelled the conspiracy ? — 10. What dissolved the triumvirate ? — 11. 
What proposition was made in the senate respecting Csesar and 
Pompey ? — 12. Who joined Pompey in the war against Caesar ? — 
13. How was Caesar invested with a two-fold power of acting in 
the name of the republick ? — 14. Where did a severe and bloody 
action occur between the two factions? — 15. What became of Pom- 
pey ? — 16. What became of Cresar ? — 17. Who formed the second 
triumvirate? — 18. Who made a stand against the triumvirate with a 
formidable force ? — 19. Who was summoned by Antony to answer for 
her conduct in dethroning her infant brother? — 20. Where did a naval 
battle take place between the fleets of Antony and Octavius ? — 21. 
What became of Antony and Cleopatra ? — 22. What power was given 
to every head of a family at Rome ? — 23. What was the principal stu- 
<ly among the Roman youth ? — 24. What is said of the early litera- 
ture of the Romans ? — 25. Who were the principal Roman historians ? 
— 26. Who was the prince of Roman orators ? — 27. Who were the 
chief of Roman poets ? 



SECTION XI. 

HOME, UNDER THE EMPERORS. 

1. The name of Augustus, was assumed by Octavius, 
after the battle of Actium, which made him the master of the 
Roman empire. The Mq of Caesar, warned him of his inse- 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 35 

curity, and while he imitated his manners, he possessed, or 
affected to possess, a higher degree of moderation, and more 
respect for the rights of the people. 

2. The temple of Janus was shut, after having stood open 
one hundred and eighty-eight years ; or, since the beginning 
of the second Punick war. " The Romans now believed 
themselves a free people, since they had no longer to fight 
for their liberty." 

3. By keeping up the ancient forms of the republican con- 
stitution, and by affecting to consider his own office as only 
temporary, Augustus kept up the delusion. He actually re- 
signed the government five times, and each time the people 
besought him to resume it. 

4. Fourteen years after Christ, and in the seventy-sixth 
year of his age, Augustus died. He possessed considerable 
sagacity in the discernment of character, as well as versatility 
of temper and genius. His virtues, though the result of 
policy, not of nature, were favourable to the happiness and the 
liberties of his subjects. 

5. The birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, 
was an event which distinguished the reign of Augustus. 
This event took place seven hundred and fifty-four years 
after the building of Rome, and four years before the com- 
mon date of the Christian era. 

6. Tiberius, the son-in-law 7 of Augustus, succeeded him 
in the government. He was a vicious, cruel, and debauched 
prince ; and under him the name, and even the appearance 
of a republick, was soon destroyed. He was strangled in 
his bed by Marco, prefect of the guards, in the seventy- 
eighth year of his age, and the twenty-third year of his reign. 

7. The crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ, took place 
at Jerusalem, in the eighteenth year of the reign of Tiberius. 
At that time, a supernatural darkness overspread the earth, 
and many uncommon prodigies in nature, attracted the no- 
tice of even barbarous nations ; leading one of their philoso- 
phers to exclaim, " Either the God of nature is suffering, or 
nature itself is about to be dissolved" 

8. Caligula, grandson of Tiberius by adoption, succeeded 
to the empire. He even exceeded his predecessor in wick- 
edness and cruelty. Military execution was substituted for 
legal punishment ; the provinces groaned under the weight 
of enormous taxes, and all men concurred in wishing the 



36 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

earth rid of such a monster in human shape. He was final* 
ly assassinated, in the fourth year of his reign, forty-two years 
after Christ. 

9. Claudius, uncle of Caligula, was now chosen emperor. 
He was a man of weak intellects, and of no education ; the 
slave of his domesticks, and the dupe of his wives. One of 
the latter, in the fifteenth year of his reign, poisoned her hus- 
band, in order to make room for her son. 

10. The reduction of Britain was the only enterprise of 
importance undertaken during the reign of Claudius. He 
visited the island in person, and left his generals to prose* 
cute the war, who finally subdued the Silures, who inha- 
bited South Wales, and carried their king, Caractacus, pri- 
soner to Rome. 

11. Nero Claudius, the son of Agrippina, succeeded his 
father, and excelled any of his predecessors in vileness of 
character. He for some time maintained a decency of pub- 
lick conduct, but soon threw off all restraint, and gave way to 
nature ; showing himself to be an odious compound of every 
thing that is base and inhuman. 

12. Seneca, who had been tutor to Nero, was put to death ; 
the tyrant allowing him, as an act of special kindness, to 
choose the mode of his execution. Wearied out at length 
with the cruelties of the monster, his subjects rebelled; and 
headed by Vindex, an illustrious Gaul, hurled him from his 
throne, and a slave despatched him with a dagger. He 
reigned fourteen years. 

13. Galba, Otho, and Yitellius, were the three next empe- 
rors. The first, reigned seven months, the second, three, 
and the third, eight. Vile and despicable in their characters, 
they all met with a violent death. 

14. Vespatian, whom Nero had appointed to the charge of 
the Jewish war, was now proclaimed emperor by the troops in 
ihe east. That war he had conducted with great prudence 
and success, and the gentleness and affability of his man- 
ners, had gained him the love and esteem of his soldiers. 
He respected the ancient forms of the state, restored the 
senate to its rights, and acted by its authority in administering 
the government. 

15. Jerusalem, the capital of Judea, was taken by him, and 
ihe Jews were entirely subdued. The war with them was 
long and bloody ; hundreds of thousands were either massa- 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 37 

ered or carried away captive, and they have never since ex- 
isted as a distinct nation. 

16. Titus, the son of Vespatian, succeeded his father in 
the government. He sustained through life the character of 
a munificent, humane, and dignified prince ; and his short 
reign is distinguished in Roman history, as a period of great 
happiness and prosperity to the empire. 

17. The cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were destroy- 
ed in his reign, by an eruption of mount Yesuvius. Within a 
few years, they have been partially disinterred, and many in- 
teresting remains, illustrative of Roman buildings and man- 
ners brought to light. 

18. Domitian, the brother of Titus, is supposed to have 
destroyed him by poison, in order that he might seize upon 
his throne. Domitian was an inhuman tyrant, and many 
parts of the empire suffered severely from his cruelty ; par- 
ticularly Germany. 

19. Nervii, Trajan, and Adrian, were the three next in 
succession. The two last sustained excellent characters, 
and sought the happiness of their subjects. Adrian died in 
the year 138, after Christ, bequeathing his kingdom to Anto- 
ninus and Annius Verus. 

20. Antoninus was the father of his people. He prefer- 
red peace to conquest ; and his domestick administration was 
splendid, dignified, and humane. While he loved religion, 
peace and justice himself, he diffused these blessings over a 
great portion of the world. He died at the age of seventy- 
four. 

21. Marcus Aurelius, which is the name assumed by Ve- 
rus, upon his accession to the throne, was a successor worthy 
of Antoninus. Under him the empire continued to flourish ; 
the internal policy of the state was reformed ; the govern- 
ment of the provinces regulated, and peace and happiness 
every where diffused. But after his death, disorders crept 
into the empire, and continued to increase for near a century. 

22. Constantine the Great, came to the throne in the three 
hundred and sixth year of the Christian era. He reformed 
abuses, tolerated the Christian religion in the empire, and re- 
pressed cruelty and corruption. The latter part of his reign 
was, however, not so happy as the former ; for he became 
intolerant and sanguinary, and in consequence, lost the love 
of his subjects. He died in the sixty-third year of his age, 

4* 



38 ANCIENT HISTORY* 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What name did Octavius assume after the battle of Actium?— * 

2. What event occurred soon after Augustus came to the throne?— 

3. How did Augustus sustain the appearances of a republick among 
the Romans ?— -4. When did Augustus die?— 5. What remarkable 
event distinguished the reign of Augustus ? — 6. Who succeeded Au- 
gustus? — 7. What event occurred in the eighteenth year of the reign 
of Tiberius?— 8. Who succeeded Tiberius?— 9. Who succeeded Cali^ 
gula? — 10. What was the only important enterprise undertaken du- 
ring the reign of Claudius? — 11. Who succeeded Claudius? — 12. 
What eminent man did Nero put to death? — 13. Who were the three 
immediate successors of Nero? — 14. Who was proclaimed emperor 
on the death of Nero, by the troops in. the east? — 15. What city was ta- 
ken by him?— 16. Who succeeded Vespatian? — 17. What cities were 
destroyed by an eruption of mount Vesuvius? — 18. Who poisoned 
Titus in order to usurp his throne? — 19. What were the names of the 
three immediate successors of Domitian? — 20. What is said of Anto- 
ninus? — 21. Who was the worthy successor of Antoninus? — 22. Who 
came to the throne in the three hundred and sixth year of the Chris- 
tian era? 



SECTION XII. 

PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY. EXTINCTION OF THE ROMAN 
EMPIRE IN THE WEST. 

1. In the reign of Theodosius, Christianity became the 
established religion of the Roman empire. Many of the pre- 
ceding emperors had violently persecuted the Christians, 
particularly Nero, and Julian, surnamed the Apostate. 

2. The hostility of the Christian theology to the Roman, 
as well as to every other false system, may fairly be assigned 
as the reason why the Romans were less tolerant to the disci- 
ples of Christ, and his Apostles, than they were to those who 
professed and practised a creed more congenial to their own. 

3. In the second century, the books of the New Testa- 
ment were first collected into a volume, and received as a 
part of the sacred Scriptures. The old Testament had long 
been received by the Jews, and it was translated into Greek 
two hundred and eighty-four years before Christ, by the com- 
mand of Ptolemy Philadelphus. 

4. In the fourth century, the Christian church became less 
pure, both in sentiment and practice ; and a foundation was 
laid for those gross errours, which were afterwards introdu- 
ced. Royal favour has never proved a mean of securing the 
church from corruption. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 30 

5. The barbarian nations, particularly the Huns and Visi- 
goths, began to establish themselves in the frontier provinces* 
in the reign of Arcadius and Honorius. The Huns over- 
spread Armenia, Cappadocia, and Syria ; while the Visigoths 
prepared to add Italy itself to their dominions. 

6. Alaric, king of the Visigoths, in the year 410, besieged 
and plundered Rome. He, however, spared the lives of the 
vanquished, and endeavoured to save from destruction every 
ancient and valuable edifice. 

7. In the reign of Romulus, called also by way of reproach, 
Augustulus, (little Augustus,) the Roman empire in the west 
came to an end. Odoacer, king of the Heruli, subdued Italy, 
anct compelled Romulus to resign his throne. From the 
building of Rome to this event, a period of one thousand two 
hundred and twenty-four years is embraced. 

8. The greatness of the Roman empire was undoubtedly 
the principal cause of its ruin. Its great extent contributed to 
weaken its frame ; the armies became infected with the vi- 
ces of those they conquered ; foreign luxuries corrupted the 
rich, and the whole mass, thus weakened by various means ? 
more easily crumbled into ruin. 

9. Constantinople was the capital of the eastern Roman 
empire. While the empire of the west was crumbling in pieces^ 
that of the east was also verging fast to ruin. Civil factions 
arose in the capital, and threatened to overturn the kingdom ; 
but they were finally subdued. 

10. Asia is supposed to have been the ancient residence 
of the Scythians, who peopled the northern parts of Europe^ 
and subdued the Roman empire in the west. 

11. Hunting, pastoral concerns, and war, were the chief 
employments of the ancient Scythians. They despised 
learning, and for many ages had no other records than the 
songs of their bards. 

12. The Germans and the Gauls, were branches of the 
Celtse, a great original nation which dwelt in those countries 
of Europe, south of the Baltick, before they were invaded by 
the tribes from Scandinavia. 

13. Monarchy was the form of government established in 
the Roman provinces by the Goths, after they settled in them. 
At first it was elective, but it afterward became hereditary. 
The chief officers were Dukes and Counts, 



4*0 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

QUESTIONS, 

1. When did Christianity become the established religion of the Ro* 
man empire? — 2. Why were the Romans less tolerant to the profes- 
sors of the Christian system of religion than to professors of pagan 
creeds? — 3. At what period were the books of the New Testament 
first collected into a volume ? — 4. At what period did the Christian 
church become less pure? — 5. Who began to establish themselves in 
the Roman provinces in the reigns of Arcadius and Honorius ? — 
6. Who besieged and plundered Rome in the year 410 7—7. In whose 
reign did the western Roman empire come to an end ? — 8. What was 
the principal cause of the ruin of the Roman empire? — 9, What was 
the capital of the eastern Roman empire ? — 10. In what country did 
the Scythians anciently reside?— 11. What were the chief employ- 
ments of the Scythians?— 12. What nations were branches ofjthc 
'''eltac?— 13. What form of government did the Goths establish? . 

SECTION XIII. 

HISTORY OF THE JEWS. 

1. The Jews derive their origin from Abraham, the son of 
Terah, the tenth in descent from Shem, the son of Noah. 
The descendants of Shem spread into Armenia, and thence 
into Chaldea, where Abraham was born. 

2. The land of Canaan, it was intimated to Abraham, was 
to be the residence of his posterity, and thoughhe had intended 
to settle in Haran, he was commanded to remove thither. 
From this period commences a long series of events, which 
are represented in the book of Genesis, as having been di- 
rected immediately by God. 

3. Only one son was born to Abraham, by Sarah his wife, 
;ind he, when he came to man's estate, married Rebecca, who 
became the mother of two sons, Esau and Jacob. On ac- 
count of a threat made by Esau, the eldest son, against the 
life of his brother, Jacob was sent into Padan-aram, to the 
protection of his mother's relatives. 

4. Jacob, at the divine command, while returning from 
Padan-aram, where he had married and become the father of 
ten sons, took the name of Israel ; and hence his posterity 
were called Israelites. 

5. Joseph, the ninth son of Jacob, was sold as a slave to 
some merchants, by his brethren, who were moved with jea- 
lousy on account of their father's partiality to this favourite 
son. These merchants carried him into Egypt, and sold 
torn to PotiphaV, an officer in the court of Pharaoh. 



ANCIENT HISTORY. 41 

£. In consequence of an extensive famine in the land of 
Canaan, where he then resided, and in the circumjacent 
countries, he went down into Egypt with all his family^ 
where Joseph, who had been raised to the dignity of prime 
minister, on account of his wisdom and virtue, had made pro- 
vision for meeting the distresses of the famine. 

7. Four hundred and thirty years the Israelites dwelt in 
Egypt, subject to great oppression and hardships, after the 
death of Joseph. This term of servitude to his descendants, 
had been foretold to Abraham, and its close, with their return 
to Canaan, their covenanted inheritance, was also predicted. 

8. Moses was at length raised up and commissioned to 
become the deliverer, judge and law-giver of the Jewish na- 
tion. He accordingly, by divine assistance, rescued them 
from bondage ; led them throughthe wilderness ; formed for 
them a system of government, and conducted them to the 
borders of Canaan. He then died at a very advanced age. 

9. 'Oshea or Joshua, having been set apart for the leader 
of Israel, by Moses, before his death, immediately made pre- 
paration for crossing the river Jordan into the land of Canaan. 
In the course of a few years the whole country was subdued, 
and the inhabitants either put to the sword or rendered tribu- 
tary to Israel. 

1 0. Judges were appointed to govern Israel after the death 
of Joshua : and as the Hebrews did not long continue in the 
observance of the institutions of Moses, they were harrassed 
with internal commotions, and often subjected to temporary 
bondage by the surrounding nations. 

11. Samuel was the last Judge of the Hebrews. He was 
also an eminent prophet, and laboured successfully to bring 
back the people to a sense of their duty. They recovered 
their liberty, and retook the cities which they had lost. In 
his old age, Samuel made his sons judges, but they proved 
unworthy of the trust, and the people demanded of him a 
king. 

12. Saul, of the tribe^of Benjamin, was accordingly chosen. 
Thus the form of government appointed by Moses, under the 
immediate direction of the Lord, was set aside, after con- 
tinuing with some intermission, three hundred and fifty-six 
years. 

13. The reign of Saul was far from being prosperous. At 
an early period he proved disobedient to the divine command^ 



42 ANCIENT HISTORY. 

and Samuel was directed to announce the rejection of him 
and his posterity from the kingdom. Ke reigned forty years. 

14. LaviJ, a young shepherd of the tribe of Judah, suc- 
ceeded Saul. His accession was productive of a civil war, 
which lasted seven years, and was then terminated by the as- 
sassination of the son of Saul, who iiad claimed the throne in 
right of his father. All the tribes now submitted to David, 
and the kingdom became hereditary in his family. 

15. The reign of David was illustrious. He enlarged the 
boundaries of his kingdom by conquest ; enriched his sub- 
jects with the spoil of his enemies ; instituted solemn cere- 
monies of religion ; and introduced a taste for the arts, by 
inviting into the country artists for the erection of numerous 
and splendid edifices. He reigned forty years. 

16. Solomon, his son, succeeded him. During his reign, 
the nation of Israel attained to the highest state of prosperity 
which it ever enjoyed. Peace, external and internal, pre- 
vailed ; commerce flourished ; the neighbouring states were 
held in check, and individual and national wealth was greatly 
increased. 

17. The building of the temple at Jerusalem, was the most 
remarkable event which distinguished the reign of Solomon. 
David had formed the plan, and provided materials, workmen, 
and money ; but the continual wars in which he was engaged, 
prevented him from erecting the building. 

18. The latter part of Solomon's reign was unfortunate. 
He multiplied wives to a great extent, and chose them from 
every country and religion ; these led him into idolatry and 
effeminacy ; he became elated with prosperity, and imposed 
such heavy taxes upon his people, that they murmured, and 
then rebelled. Solomon reigned forty years. 

19. Ten tribes revolted from the house of David on the 
death of Solomon, and chose Jeroboam for their king His 
policy led him to effect a religious as well as a civil separa- 
iion ; and he built a new temple, and instituted a new order 
of priests and of worship. This schism in the Jewish nation 
never has been healed. 

20. Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, was chosen king by 
the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Under him and his suc- 
cessors, the kingdom of Judah underwent various changes, 
iill at last the country was invaded and rendered tributary by 



ANCIENT HISTORY, 43 

the Babylonians, and all the principal persons carried captive 
to Babylon. This event occurred five hundred and eighty- 
four years before Christ 

21. Cyrus, king of Persia, having conquered Babylon, 
gave the Jews their liberty after they had been seventy years 
in bondage. He also restored all the utensils of the temple ? 
and gave the Jews permission to return to their own country, 
and to rebuild their temple, which had been destroyed. It is 
the descendants of those who returned from this captivity., 
who ever after were known under the name of Jews, and still 
go under that denomination. 

22. Judas Maccabseus, a man of uncommon talents, bra- 
very, and love of his country, delivered the Jewish nation 
from the power of the Syrians, who had, under Antiochus, 
reduced Judea, and established paganism throughout the land. 
The government continued in the family of Maccabaeus till 
fifty-nine years before Christ ; when Jerusalem was taken by 
Pompey the Great, and made a Roman province. 

23. Monarchy was restored by the Romans., who placed 
Herod the Great on the throne. He destroyed the old tem- 
ple of Jerusalem, and rebuilt it in a most magnificent manner. 
Herod was possessed of great abilities, but in his publick and 
private transactions, was both cruel and unjust. The birth 
of Christ took place in the last year of his reign. 

24. In the year 72, after Christ, the Jews having by a long 
series of wars and rebellions, provoked the Romans, and 
wearied out their patience, they destroyed Jerusalem and the 
temple, and utterly extinguished the Jewish nation. This 
event took place in the reign of Vespatian, emperor of the 
Romans. 

25. One million four hundred thousand Jews, are compu- 
ted to have died violent deaths, during the last war with the 
Romans, beside many who died of famine and grief. Since 
that time, the Jews have been wandering from one nation to 
another ; persecuted by some, robbed by others, and hated 
by all, — a striking monument of the truth of divine prediction. 

26. The Scriptural history includes a period of three thou- 
sand four hundred and fifty-seven years. In this period of 
time, a great variety of events, civil, political and religious 
occurred ; many of the arts and sciences were invented, and 
knowledge progressed, while the earth was adorned with state- 
ly edifices, and great cities. Of these interesting subjects. 



44 ANCIENT HISTORY. 



Jews 



but few hints are given in the Bible, except so far as the Jew* 
are concerned. 

27. That crimes and calamities form the principal record of 
the human race, is the conclusion to which a review of histo- 
ry will lead us. We every where find ignorance and vice in 
a greater or less degree ; and if we meet with here and there' 
an example of virtue, it is only as the glimmering of a star 
amid the darkness of midnight. 

QUESTIONS. 

I. From whom do the Jews derive their origin ? — 2. To what place 
did Abraham remove? — 3. How many sons had Abraham? — 4. Whose 
name was changed to Israel ? — 5. Which of the sons of Jacob was sold 
into Egypt? — 6. Why did Jacob go to Egypt? — 7. How long did the 
Israelites continue in Egypt ? — 8. Who was raised up to be their de- 
liverer? — 9. Who became the leader of Israel after the death of Mo 
ses ? — 10. Who were appointed to govern Israel after the death of 
Joshua? — 11. Who was their last judge?— 12. Who was their first 
king ? — 13. What is said of Saul's reign ? — 14. Who succeeded Saul r 
■ — 15. What is said of the reign of David? — 16. Who succeeded Da- 
vid ? — 17. What was the most remarkable event of Solomon's reign? — 
18. What part of his reign was unfortunate ? — 19 How many tribes 
revolted from the house of David on the death of Solomon ? — 20. Who 
was chosen king of Judah and Benjamin? — 21. Who gave the Jews 
their liberty after they had been carried captive to Babylon ? — 22. 
Who rescued the Jews from the power of the Syrians ? — 23. What form 
of government did the Romans establish in Judea ?— 24. When were 
the Jews utterly destroyed as a nation? — 25. How many died violent 
deaths in the last war with the Romans ? — 26. How long a period does 
the Scripture history include ?— 27. To what conclusion are we led by 
a review of history ? 



fAKf XI. 

MODERN HISTORY. 



SECTION I. 



SARACEN EMPIRE* EARLY AGES OF FRANCE. EMPIRE Q)I 
THE EAST. STATE OF THE CHURCH. 

1. The fall of the Roman empire in the west, is the period 
from which we date the commencement of Modern History. 
The empire of the east still continued to exist for some ages 
after this period ; but, though magnificent, it was comparative- 
ly weak and degenerate. 

2. The patriarch Abraham was the progenitor of the Am- 
bians. At the time of the fall of the Roman empire in the 
west, they were a rude nation, divided into independent tribes ? 
and professing a religion, which was a mixture of Judaism 
and idolatry. 

3. In the year of our Lord 571, Mahomet was born. His 
descent was mean, and he had little education, yet he pos- 
sessed great natural talents, and by establishing a new system 
of religion, he raised himself to great celebrity and power. 

4. The koran, or sacred book of the Mahometans, was 
given to him, as their prophet pretended, by the angel Gabri« 
el at different times. In this book are taught the belief and 
worship of one God, and it also inculcates charity and hu- 
manity, protection to the injured, and the constant exercise 
of piety and devotion. Many of its precepts and doctrines 
are drawn from the Bible. 

5. Dissensions and tumults between the believers and the 
infidels, caused Mahomet to fly from Mecca in the year 622, 
after Christ. This flight is called the Hegyra, and was the 
commencement of Mahomet's glory. He retired to Medi- 
na, and being there joined by many of his countrymen, began 
to propagate his doctrine by jire and sword, with great suc- 
cess. 



46 MODERN HISTORY. 

6. The tribes of Germans lying on the lower Rhine and 
the Weser, and known by the names of Chauci, Cherusci, 
Catti, and Sicambri, in the time of Tacitus, were the forefa- 
thers of the Franks. They received the name of Franks, or 
freemen, from their temporary union to resist the domina- 
tion of the Romans. 

7. Under Clovis, in the fifth or sixth century, the Franks 
received Christianity, by means of Clotilda the queen. She 
was the daughter of Childerick, king of Burgundy, who was 
dethroned by his son-in-law. 

8. Charles Martel, mayor of France, delivered the king- 
dom from the Saracens, A. D. 732. He ruled France twen- 
ty-six years with great ability and success. He was victori- 
ous over all his foes, and by the force of his arms kept the 
surrounding nations in awe. 

9. Pepin-le-bref and Carloman, the two sons of Charles 
Martel, succeeded him in the government of France, and the 
former, deposing the rightful sovereign, mounted the throne. 

10. The feudal system began soon after this to extend it- 
self over most of Europe. By this, the proprietor of lands 
was obliged to perform military service when required by his 
chief, or over-lord ; and on this tenure, all lands and posses- 
sions were held. 

11. To circumscribe and greatly diminish the power of the 
sovereign, was the universal effect of the feudal system. 
Frequent wars and bloody contests also arose among the ba- 
rons or chiefs, in which each one brought his vassals into the 
field, and the greatest atrocities frequently occurred. 

12. The Carlovingian or second race of French monarchs, 
was established by Pepin-le-bref. The Merovingian or first 
race ended with Childerick, A. D. 751. 

13. Charlemagne, the son of Pepin, succeeded his father. 
His character, both in publick, and in the domestick circle, 
was amiable and respectable ; he was also simple in the 
economy of his family, and just in his government. 

14. His daughters were employed in spinning and domes- 
tick cares, while he trained his sons to all manly exercises. 
He died in the year 814, in the seventy-second year of his 
age, and was succeeded by his son Lewis the debonair. 

15. Commerce received great attention in the reign of 
Charlemagne. Merchants from Italy and the south of France 
traded to the Levant, and exchanged the commodities ci' 



MODERN HISTORY. 47 

Europe and Asia. Venice and Genoa were fast rising into 
commercial importance, and in the course of years, became 
the great mercantile emporiums of the world. 

16. Wool, glass, and iron, were successfully manufactured 
in many towns in the south of Europe. Money retained 
nearly the same value as in the time of the Romans. A livrc 
in the time of Charlemagne was worth about three pounds 
sterling, English money ; at present it is worth ten and a half 
pence, English. 

17. The Gothick style of architecture was successfully 
cultivated at this period. This style admits of great beauty 
and elegance. The composition called Mosaick, appears to 
have been the invention of these ages. 

18. The state of learning was very low, and confined to a 
few ecclesiasticks. Charlemagne gave the greatest encour- 
agement to men of learning, and invited to his kingdom men 
of science from Italy and the British islands. The scarcity 
of books, and the nature of their subjects, manifest, unequi- 
vocally, the low state of literature. 

19. The trial by ordeal, and by judicial combat, were 
striking peculiarities in the manners and the laws of the 
northern nations ; particularly the Franks. In the trial by 
ordeal, the criminal was obliged to prove his innocence by- 
cold water, boiling water, or red hot iron. Sometimes, his 
hands and feet being tied, he was thrown into a pool to sink 
or swim ; sometimes he was to fetch a ring from the bottom 
of a vessel of boiling water, and at others, compelled to walk 
barefooted over burning ploughshares. 

20. The practice of duelling may be traced to the custom 
of judicial combat. In this mode of trial, both in civil and 
criminal cases, the party destitute of legal evidence, might 
challenge his opponent to mortal combat, and rest his cause 
upon the issue. 

21. The Arian and Pelagian heresies divided the church 
for many ages. Arius arose in the fourth century, and de- 
nied the deity of Christ ; Pelagius lived in the beginning of 
the fifth century, and denied the doctrine of original sin, and 
maintained the sufficiency of man's natural powers to attain 
the highest degree of virtue and piety. 

22. The worship of images furnished an obstinate source 
of controversy in these ages, At first, the clergy opposed 
this practice* but from interested motives, they afterward 



4S MODERN HISTORY. 

countenanced it. It was at length condemned by the 
church. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. From what period do we date the commencement of Modern 
History ? — 2. Who was the progenitor of the Arabians ? — 3. When 
was Mahomet born? — 4. What did Mahomet pretend was given him 
at different times by the angel Gabriel ? — 5. What caused Mahomet to 
fly from Mecca ? — 6. Who were the forefathers of the Franks ? — 7. 
Under whom did the Franks receive Christianity ? — 8. Who delivered 
the kingdom of the Franks from the Saracens ? — 9. Who succeeded 
Charles Martel? — 10. What new system of policy began soon after to 
extend itself over Europe? — 11. What was the effect of the feudal 
system? — 12. What race of French monarchs was established by 
Fepin-le-bref ? — 13. Who succeeded Pepin ? — 14. How were the chil- 
dren of Charlemagne employed? — 15. What received great attention 
in the reign of Charlemagne? — 16. What were manufactured with 
success in many towns in the south of Europe? — 17. What style of 
architecture was cultivated at this period? — 18. What is said of the 
state of learning?— 19. What were peculiarities in the manners and 
laws of the northern nations of Europe? — 20. What may be traced to 
the custom of judicial combat? — 21. What heresies, for many ages, 
divided the church? — 22. What furnished a source of obstinate con 
iroversy? 

SECTION II. 

EMPIRE OF THE WEST. EMIGRE OF THE EAST. STATE OF 

THE CHURCH. 

1. In the year eight hundred and sixteen, Lewis, the de- 
bonair, was consecrated king of the Franks. He was the 
only surviving legitimate son of Charlemagne, and being 
himself a weak prince, and succeeded by those equally weak, 
the empire, so lately nourishing, fell in pieces. 

2. His sons united in a war against their father, though the) 
agreed in nothing else, and imprisoned him in a monastery, 
Charles the bald finally obtained the throne ; but after a weak 
and inglorious reign, died by poison in the year 877. 

3. The Normans, a new race of Goths, in the reign of 
Charles the bald, attacked and plundered the cities of France, 
and carried the men, women, and children, into captivity. 
In the year 845, they plundered and burned Paris, and ulti- 
mately compelled the French to cede them that portion of 
territory which was afterward called Normandy, 



MODERN HISTORY. 49 

4. The empire of the east still retained a portion of its an- 
cient grandeur, while that of the west was tending so rapidly 
to dissolution. The character of the emperors was very bad, 
and murder, incest and assassinations were frequent and un- 
punished. 

5. The Russians and the Turks, two new races of barba- 
rians, about this time, added to the misfortunes of the empire, 
by their inroads and depredations.. These calamities were 
greatly aggravated, by the separation of the Greek and Latin 
churches, which occurred about this period. 

6. Under Pepin and Charlemagne, the popes began to ac- 
quire temporal authority. Donations of territory were made 
by these princes to the popes, and from that time they began 
to extend their spiritual jurisdiction over all the Christian 
kingdoms. Nicholas I. began to proclaim his supremacy, 
which was resisted by the patriarch of Constantinople. Ex- 
communications and anathemas were freely dealt out by both 
parties, till the breach became too great to be healed. 

7. The Saracens having founded the kingdom of Moroc- 
co, turned their arms against Spain, and in a famous battle, 
fought in the year 713, conquered and slew Rodrigo, the 
Gothick king. The Moors fixed the seat of their govern- 
ment at Cordova, which, for two hundred years, was the 
capital of a splendid monarchy. 

8. From the eighth till the middle of the tenth century, 
forms the most brilliant era of Arabian magnificence. The 
Moors were at this time, the most enlightened people of Eu- 
rope. Their conquests extended to almost every quarter of 
the world. The Mahometan religion was professed over a 
great part of India, and all along the Mediterranean and east- 
ern coast of Africa. 

9. By not acting under one head, the Saracens failed of 
erecting a great and powerful empire. Egypt, Morocco, 
Spain, and India, had each their separate sovereigns, who, 
though they acknowledged the Caliph of Bagdat as the suc- 
cessor of the Prophet of Mecca, yet refused to admit any 
temporal subjection to his government. 

10. The empire founded by Charlemagne was now nearly 
destroyed. The emperors were chosen by the bishops and 
grandees, all of whom claimed a voice. In this manner, Lew- 
is, the last of the race of Charlemagne, was elected after the 
death of his father. 

5* 



50 MODERN HISTORY. 

11. Henry I., surnamed the Fowler, a prince of grea* 
talents, once more introduced good order into the kingdom. 
He united the grandees, and curbed their usurpations ; built, 
fortified, and replenished the cities, and enforced the execu- 
tion of the laws. He had no correspondence with the see of 
Rome. 

12. Otho the Great, son of Henry I., restored Italy to the 
empire, and kept the pope in complete subjection. Discord 
and crime, were at this period extremely prevalent at Rome, 
and the successors of St. Peter, while they claimed his chair, 
showed that they possessed little of his spirit, and the office 
of pope was publickly bought and sold. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. When was Lewis, the debonair, consecrated king of the Franks ? 
—2. What did his sons do? — 3. Who attacked and plundered tin. 
cities of France? — 4. What is said of the empire of the east? — 5. What 
new races of barbarians, at this period, added, by their ravages, to the 
miseries of the empire? — 6. Under whom did the popes begin to ac- 
quire temporal power? — 7. Who founded the kingdom of Morocco 
and invaded Spain ? — 8. What is the most brilliant era of Arabian 
magnificence? — 9. For what reason did the Saracens fail of erecting 
a powerful empire ? — 10. What, at this time, was the condition of the 
empire founded by Charlemagne ? — 11. Who again introduced good 
order into the kingdom of France? — 12. Who restored Italy to the 
empire ? 

SECTION III. 

BRITAIN. NORMAN CONQUEST. STATE OJ? EUROPE*, 

1. The Celtse of Gaul, were probably the first inhabitants 
of the British isles. Their authentick history commences 
with the Jloman invasion, and from Caesar and Tacitus, we- 
learn that the countryjwas far removed from a state of barba- 
rism, even at that early period. It was divided into a num- 
ber of small, independent sovereignties ; each prince having 
a regular army, and a fixed revenue. 

2. Julius Caesar was the first Roman general who visited 
Britain. He landed on the southern coast of the island, in 
the year 55, but meeting with stout resistance, he was obli- 
ged, after a short campaign, to retire into Gaul for the winter. 
The next summer he returned with a fleet of eight hundred 
ships, and twenty thousand foot, with a proportionate body oil 
horse, and succeeded in reducing the country. 



MODERN HISTORY, SI 

3* For more than three hundred years, the Romans kept 
possession of the island ; but in the year 448, on account of 
the unsettled state of Italy, they returned home, after rebuild-* 
ing the wall of Severus, as a barrier against the Picts and 
Caledonians. These nations, however, soon made great in- 
roads into the country for the purpose of plunder. 

4.. The Saxons, being invited by the Britains, sent over 
sixteen hundred men to their assistance, under Hengist and 
Horsa, A. D. 450, These quickly compelled the Scots to 
retire, and then turned their arms against the Britains ; and 
after a contest of one hundred and fifty years, reduced the 
whole of England under the Saxon government. 

5. The Saxon heptarchy, as the government was called? 
affords nothing interesting. It continued about four hundred 
years, and then Egbert, the only surviving descendant of the 
Saxon conquerors, by his victorious arms, and judicious 
policy, united the several states into one great monarchy, 
A. D. 827. 

6. The Danes and Normans, a piratical people, by their 
depredations, prevented the kingdom from enjoying tranquili- 
ty. For some centuries, they continued at intervals, to plun- 
der and ravage the country, till at last the kingdom was re- 
duced to extreme wretchedness. 

7. Alfred the Great, at length, having in one year defeated 
the Danes in eight severe battles, succeeded in repressing, 
their invasions, and incorporating them with his English sub- 
jects, restored order and peace to the country. 

8. The character of Alfred was so amiable, as to give him. 
a high rank among the greatest of princes. He united the 
most heroick and enterprising spirit, with the greatest pru- 
dence and moderation ; the most vigorous authority, with the 
utmost gentleness of manners ; the strictest justice, with the 
greatest lenity; and the abilities of the statesman, and man of 
letters, with intrepid resolution and conduct as a general. 

9. He divided the kingdom into counties and hundreds, or 
tithings. Every tithing consisted often families, over which 
was placed the tithing-man, or borgholder ; and ten of these 
composed the hundred. Every householder was answerable 
for the conduct of his family, and the tithing-man for all in his 
tithing. Alfred composed for the regulation of the courts, 
and of his kingdom, a body of laws, which constitutes the ba~> 
£is of the laws of England. 



52 MODERN HISTORY. 

10. At the age of fifty-three, after a glorious reign of 
twenty-nine years and a half, Alfred died. In whatever light 
we view his character, we must regard him as one of the 
wisest and best men that ever sat on a throne. He was 
a most accomplished scholar for the age, and composed, as 
well as translated, many works. 

11. Confusion and disorder prevailed in the reigns of the 
successors of Alfred. The Danes again began to ravage the 
kingdom, and about eighty years after the death of Alfred, 
A. D. 981, they seriously projected the conquest of England. 
The clergy began to extend their authority over the throne, 
and the succeeding princes became the obsequious slaves of 
the priesthood. 

12. William, duke of Normandy, claiming a right to the 
English throne, in virtue of the will of Edward the confessor, 
attacked and defeated the English at Hastings, on the 14th of 
October, 1066. This battle decided the contest, and Will- 
iam took possession of the throne, and thus put an end to the 
Anglo-Saxon line. 

13. The government of the Anglo-Saxon kings was chief- 
ly military. They had no more authority than belonged to 
a general, or military leader. There was no regular suc- 
cession to the throne ; and though some one of the family of 
the last king was chosen, yet it was generally the person best 
fitted to govern. 

14. There w r ere three ranks of the people ; the nobles, the 
free, and the slaves. The nobles held their lands of the 
king ; the freemen held of the nobles, and paid them rent ; 
and the slaves were employed in domestick services, or in 
cultivating the lands. The master was fined for the murder 
of his slave, and if he mutilated him, the slave recovered his 
freedom. 

15. Pecuniary fines formed the ordinary atonement for 
every species of crime. Two-thirds of the fines went to the 
king, and constituted no inconsiderable portion of his reve- 
nue. Beside the fines, the king received the demesnes or 
rents of the crown lands, and certain imposts on boroughs and 
sea-ports. 

16. The Norman conquest was a real advantage to Eng- 
land. The Anglo-Saxons w r ere far behind the Normans in 
civilization, and with the conquest came great improvements 
in arts, sciences, government, and laws. 



MODERN HISTORY. 53 

17. Hugh Capet, on the death of Lewis V., was elected 
to the throne of France, in the year 987. Under his reign, 
and that of Robert, his successor, the kingdom suffered much 
misery. The latter became the victim of papal tyranny, for 
daring to marry a distant cousin, without a dispensation from 
the pope. 

18. Pilgrimage and Chivalry were the prevailing passions 
of those times. In this career of adventure, the Normans 
greatly distinguished themselves. They expelled, in 983, 
the Saracens from the territories of the duke of Salano, and 
did a similar service for pope Benedict VII., and the duke of 
Capua. 

19. Extreme barbarism marked the character of the nor- 
thern nations of Europe, at this period. Russia received the 
Christian religion in the eighth century ; Sweden, Hungary, 
and Bohemia, after, having received Christianity, relapsed 
again to idolatry. 

20. The Moors possessed Spain and Portugal ; and Cor- 
dova, their capital, was the seat of luxury and magnificence. 
At this period, knight-errantry w T as much in vogue, and the 
country abounded with independent lords, who acted as 
champions in deciding the quarrels of princes, or enlisted in- 
to their service, with all their vassals and attendants. 

21. The contest between the imperial and papal powers, 
marks a distinguished trait of those ages. The emperors clai- 
med the right of nominating the popes, without an interven- 

i tion of a council, while the clergy strenuously resisted the 
i claim. The popes at length prevailed, and the papal power 
was settled on a firm basis, by Innocent III. 

22. William the Conqueror, king of England, was haughty 
and tyrannical. He disgusted the English by the preference 
which he showed to the Normans, in advancing them to all 
offices of trust and honour. A conspiracy arose from these 
discontents, which William defeated, and henceforth deter- 
mined to treat the English as a conquered people. 

23. The feudal law was introduced into England by Will- 
iam. By this, the whole kingdom was divided into baronies, 
and bestowed, under military tenure, upon his Norman fol- 
lowers. But no act of William was more resented by his 
subjects, than that which was called the forest law. By 
this, he claimed the exclusive right of killing game over all 
the kingdom* 



54 MODERN HISTORY. 

24. Doemsdarj-book was formed by his order. This was a 
record of the survey of all the lands in the kingdom, with a 
distinct specification of their extent, value, names of their 
proprietors, and the number and class of inhabitants residing on 
them. This valuable record is still preserved, andis now printed. 

25. William II. , sufrnamed Rufus, or Red, succeeded his 
father, William the Conqueror, and inherited all his vices, 
but none of his virtues. His reign was distinguished by no 
event of importance, and presents nothing but a dull career 
of unresisted despotism. He was succeeded by Henry I., 
whose character was equally bad. 

26. Henry II. came to the throne in 1 154. He was every 
way worthy of the crown. He began his reign by reforming 
abuses, revoking impoliticly grants, regulating the administra- 
tion of justice, and establishing the freedom of the towns by 
charters. 

27. Ireland was conquered in his reign ; though it was not 
considered as fully subdued till the reign of Elizabeth. Hen- 
ry imposed on the conquered country an annual tribute, and 
an obligation of allegiance to the crown of England. He 
also divided Ireland into counties, and introduced the English 
laws. The first Irish parliament was held in this reign. 

28. Domestick misfortunes clouded the last years of 
Henry's reign. His four sons, Henry, Geoffrey, Richard, and 
John, instigated hy their mother, rebelled against their father, 
and aided by the king of France, prepared to dethrone him. 
The Scots seizing the opportunity, invaded and plundered the 
country. The spirits of Henry sunk under such complicated 
misfortunes, and he died of a broken heart, in the year 1189, 
and in the fifty-eighth year of his age. 

29. Richard I. succeeded him. He soon embarked for 
Palestine, to join the war against the infidels, and plundered 
his subjects of immense sums of money, to defray his ex- 
penses. On his return, he was seized by the emperor of 
Germany, and detained prisoner till he was ransomed by his 
subjects, at the price of 150,000 merks. 

30. Magna Oharta, the paladium of English liberty, was 
formed in the reign of John, the successor of Richard I. 
This is a compact between the king and the people, in which 
the rights and prerogatives of both parties are defined and 
settled. John was compelled by his subjects, to ratify and 
confirm it, two or three times during his reign. 



MODERN HISTORY. 55 

QUESTIONS* 

1. Who were probably the first inhabitants of the British isles? — 2. 
Who was the first Roman general that visited Britain ? — 3. How long 
did the Romans keep possession of the Island ? — 4. Who were invited 
by the Britains to assist them against the Picts, and Caledonians ? — 5. 
What was the government of the Saxons called ? — 6. Who, by their 
depredations, prevented the kingdom from enjoying tranquility ? — 7. 
Who conquered the Danes ? — 8. What is said of the character of Al- 
fred ? — 9. What division did he make of the kingdom ? — 10. At what 
age, and after how long a reign did Alfred die? — 11. What took place 
after the death of Alfred ?— 12. Who defeated the English at the battle 
of Hastings ? — 13. What was the government of the Anglo-Saxon 
kings?— 14. How many ranks of people were there? — 15. What form- 
ed the ordinary atonement for every species of crime? — 16. What was 
a real advantage to England ?-~17. Who was elected king of France 
in 987? — 18. What were the prevailing passions of those times ?— 19, 
What marked the character of the northern nations of Europe at this 
time? — 20. Who possessed Spain and Portugal? — 21. What marks 
a distinguished trait of those ages ? — 22. What is said of William 
the Conqueror ? — 23. What law did William introduce ? — 24. What 
book was formed by his order? — 25. Who succeeded William the 
Conqueror? — 26. Who came to the throne 1154? — 27. What country 
was conquered in his reign ? — 28. What clouded the last years of Hen» 
ry's reign ? — 29. Who succeeded him ? — 30. What was formed in the 
reign of John ? 

SECTION IV. 

CRUSADES. CHIVALRY. ROMANCE. STATE OF EUROPE. 

1. The Crusades, or holy wars, undertaken for the pur- 
pose of driving the Saracens or Turks from Jerusalem and 
Palestine, distinguished the tenth and eleventh centuries. 
The holy land had been in possession of the infidels for more 
than four hundred years, and they inflicted many grievances 
upon the Christians who visited the tomb of our Saviour. 

2. Peter the Hermit, a native of Amiens, having been on 
a pilgrimage, complained much of the exactions and tyranny 
of the Turks ; and Urban II. , who then filled the papal chair 
having long entertained the idea of arming all Christendom 
against the infidels, thought Peter a fit person to commence 
its execution. 

3. Eighty thousand men, soon ranged themselves under 
the banners of Peter, and began their march toward Jerusa- 
lem. Their progress was marked by acts of rapine and hos- 
tility in every country through which they passed? and before 



55 MODERN HISTORY. 






they reached Constantinople, the army was reduced two- 
thirds. A second army met with a similar fate, and Jerusa- 
lem still remained subject to the infidels. 

4. Two millions of Europeans are supposed to have pe- 
rished in the crusades. By this means, Europe was in a 
manner purified ; the manners of its inhabitants improved, 
and the power of the feudal barons greatly lessened. The 
towns began to purchase their freedom from the nobles, and 
acquired the right of electing their own magistrates, and ma- 
king their own laws. 

5. Chivalry was brought to perfection in the age of the 
crusades. Among the Germans, the profession of arms was 
the only employment esteemed manly, or honourable ; and 
the initiation of youth in this profession, was attended with 
peculiar solemnity, as well as ceremony. The candidate for 
knighthood underwent preparatory fasts and vigils, and then 
on his knees, received the commands and benediction of his 
chief. 

6. Romance, or works of fiction, also took its rise in the 
time of the crusades. Chivalry presented a vast field for 
military glory, and was fruitful in adventure. The bards and 
romancers sung the praises of the knights, and recounted 
their exploits with a thousand circumstances of fabulous em- 
bellishment. The oldest romances were produced in the 
twelfth century. 

7. In the year 1202, Constantinople was taken by the 
crusaders, and for sixty years, was under the government of 
France. The Greeks then retook it, under Michael Palae- 
ologus, who, by putting out the eyes of his pupil, Theodore 
Lascaris, secured the sovereignty to himself. 

8. Frederick II. governed Germany in the beginning of 
the thirteenth century. He paid homage to the pope for Na- 
ples and Sicily ; but afterward they were given to the brother 
of Lewis IX., king of France. The Sicilians not being 
pleased with this arrangement, rebelled, and in one night 
murdered every Frenchman on the island. This massacre 
happened on Easter Sunday, 1282, and was followed by all 
the miseries of civil war and revolution. 

9. The Inquisition was established in the beginning of the 
thirteenth century, by pope Innocent III. The first design 
of this institution was, to punish the Albigenses, an inoffen- 
sive people, who, in maintaining primitive Christianity, were 



MODERN HISTORY. 57 

bold enough to dispute many of the tenets of the papal 
cfiurch. This object being accomplished, the benefits of the 
commission were judged by the pope to be so great, that he 
made it a permanent establishment* 

10. From the year 1274, the rise of the house of Austria 
may be dated. At that time, Rodolphus, a Swiss baron, was 
elected emperor of Germany. He took Austria from the 
king of Bohemia, and it has ever since been in the family ol 
its conqueror.- The states of Venice, Genoa, and Pisa, were 
at this time flourishing and opulent ; while most of the king- 
doms of Europe were weak, feeble, and exhausted. 

11. The revolution of Switzerland distinguished the be« 
ginning of the thirteenth century. Albert, the successor 
of Rodolphus, by his tyranny, exasperated several of the 
Swiss cantons ; which, uniting to assert their freedom, with 
a small army of four or five hundred men, defeated an im- 
mense host of the Austrians, at the pass of Morgate, in the 
year 1315. Sixty pitched battles were fought by the 
Swiss, before they secured their independence. 

12. Henry VII., emperor of Germany, being engaged in 
a war with the pope, fought his way to Rome, where he was 
solemnly crowned, and imposed a tribute on all the Italian 
states. He died suddenly soon after, and his death is attri- 
buted to the resentment of the pope. The seat of the pope- 
dom, in his time, was removed from Rome to Avingnon, in 
France, where it continued sixty-eight years. 

13. The imperial constitution, or the fundamental law of 
the German empire, was published in 1355, by Charles IV. 
By this, the number of electors was reduced to seven, and 
all the hereditary offices of state were settled on them. 
The electors soon exemplified their rights, by deposing the 
son of Charles for incapacity, in the year 1400. 

14. The Council of Constance was summoned in 1414, by 
Sigismund, to settle differences and restore peace to the 
church. Three popes had been elected by the French and 
Italian factions; but the council deposed all three, and elect- 
ed a fourth, Martin Colonna. This division of the papacy 
is termed the great schism of the west 

15. John Huss, and Jerom of Prague, were tried at this 
council for heresy, in denying the papal supremacy, and ridi- 
culing the vices and immoralities of the popes and bishops, 
They did not deny the charge, and refusing to confess their 

5 



53 MODERN HISTORY. 

errours, were condemned to the stake. They displayed great 
firmness and constancy, and are reckoned martyrs for the 
truth. 

16. Henry III. at nine years of age, succeeded to the throne 
of England, on the death of John, his father. He was a prince 
of amiable disposition, but of weak understanding ; and his 
preference of foreign favourites, disgusted the nobles, while 
the want of economy in his government, and his oppressive 
exactions, deprived him of the affections of his people. 

17. Montfort, earl of Leicester, brother-in-law to Henry, 
conceived the idea of usurping the government. He form- 
ed a league with the barons, and on the pretext of reforming 
abuses, compelled Henry to delegate all the regal power to 
twenty-four of their number. These divided the offices of 
government among themselves, and new-modelled the parlia- 
ment by summoning a certain number of knights from each 
county. But these barons, disgusted with Leicester, soon 
left him and joined the royal party. 

18. The death of Leicester, who was slain at the battle of 
Evesham, on the 4th of August, 1265, put an end to the re- 
bellion, and restored Henry to the throne. His son Edward, 
a br.ave and gallant prince, was of eminent service to his fa- 
ther in subduing the rebellion. He afterward joined Lewis 
of France in the last crusade, and concluded an honourable 
and advantageous tyuee with the sultan of Babylon. 

19. The conquest of Wales was effected in the beginning 
of the reign of Edward I. Lewellyn, prince of Wales, refu- 
sed to do homage to Edward, and the latter, marching an army 
into the principality, drove the Welsh into the mountains, and 
compelled them to unqualified submission. Lewellyn broke 
the treaty then formed, and Edward again marching into 
Wales, a decisive and desperate battle took place. The 

Welsh prince was slain, and the country entirely subdued, 

1283. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What distinguished the tenth and eleventh centuries? — 2. Who 
was employed by the pope to excite the nations of Europe to the holy 
war? — 3. How many men soon ranged themselves under the banners 
of Peter? — 4. How many Europeans are supposed to have perished 
in the crusades? — 5. What was brought to perfection hi the age of 
the crusades? — 6. What took its rise in the time of the crusades? — 
7. When was Constantinople taken by the crusaders? — S. Who go- 
verned Germany in the beginning of the thirteenth century? — 9 .What 



MODERN HISTORY. 59 

was established by pope Innocent III. ?— 10. From what year may 
the rise of the house of Austria be dated? — 11. What distinguished 
the beginning of the thirteenth century ? — 12. Who imposed a tribute 
on the Italian states? — 13. What was published in 1355 by Charles 
IV. ? — 14 What did Sigismund summon in 1414 to settle the peace of 
the church ?■ — 15. Who were tried and burned at this council for he- 
resy ? — 16. Who came to the throne of England on the death of John ? 
— 17. Who raised a rebellion against him?— 18. What put an end to 
the rebellion ?— 19, What was effected in the beginning of the reign of 
Edward I. ? 

SECTION V. 

SCOTLAND. ENGLAND. FRANCE. FALL OF THE GREEK 

EMPIRE. 

1. Very little is known of the true history of Scotland, till 
the reign of Malcolm III., A. D. 1057. That prince defea- 
ted Macbeth, the murderer of Duncan, the father of Mal- 
colm. For twenty-seven years, he maintained a spirited 
contest with England, and even succeeded in reducing Cum- 
berland and Northumberland, which he consented to hold in 
vassallage of the crown of England. 

2. Alexander I., and David I., were the immediate suc- 
cessors of Malcolm. They were both princes of talent, 
and defended their country against invasion. Long and 
bloody were the contests between the Scots and the English, 
and both kingdoms suffered material, and about equal injury. 

3. Bruce and Baliol, on the death of Alexander III., be- 
came competitors for the crown of Scotland. Edward I., of 
England, was chosen umpire, and compelling Baliol to do ho- 
mage to himself as lord paramount, adjudged the crown to him. 
Soon after, Baliol, renouncing his allegiance, Edward com- 
pelled him to abdicate the throne, and resign it into his hands. 

4. William Wallace, one of the greatest heroes that ever 
lived, restored the fallen fortunes of his country. With a, 
few patriots, he attacked the forces of Edward, and after a 
series of victories, entirely defeated the English at Stirling, 
and compelled them to evacuate the kingdom. 

5. Wallace was at length betrayed into the hands of the 
English, and slain. After his death, Robert Bruce, grand - 
son of the Robert who was competitor with Baliol, deeply re- 
senting the injuries of his country, again set up the standard 
df war, and after various successes, once more drove the 



60 MODERN HISTORY. 

English from Scotland, and was crowned king at Scone, io 
July, 1307. 

6. Edward II. succeeded to the crown of England on the 
death of his father, Edward I. In obedience to the dying in- 
junction of his father, not to give peace to Scotland, he led 
an army of a hundred thousand men into that country. Ro- 
bert Bruce met this immense force with thirty thousand men, 
at Bannockburn, and defeated it with great slaughter. 

7. The queen of Edward, a vicious and unprincipled wo- 
man, soon after made war upon her husband, and by the aid 
of her brother, Charles IV., of France, took him prisoner. 
He was tried by parliament, deposed, and put in prison, 
where he was cruelly murdered, A. D. 1327. 

8. Edward III., at the age of fourteen, ascended the 
throne, and speedily avenged the murder of his father, by the 
perpetual imprisonment of his mother. He then led an arm} 
into Scotland, defeated the Scots at Halidoun-hill, and pla- 
ced on the throne his vassal and tributary Edward Baliol. 

9. In the right of his mother, sister of Charles IV., Ed- 
ward, on the death of his uncle, set up a claim to the crown 
of France. He fitted out an immense armament, both by 
sea and land, and at the battle of Cressy, August 26, 1348, 
with thirty thousand men, defeated a French army of a 
hundred thousand. Fire arms were first used in this battle. 

10. John, who succeeded his father Philip on the throne 
of France, was defeated at the battle of Poictiers, and being 
taken captive, was carried to r London, where he died. The 
French carried on the war with great vigour during the cap- 
tivity of their sovereign, and the English gained little but 
honour from all their victories. 

11. Richard II., grandson of Edward III., succeeded to 
the throne on the death of that prince. He was a weak and 
impotent prince ; little fitted to manage the powerful factions 
which arose between the Dukes of Lancaster, York, and 
Gloucester, and embroiled all publick affairs. Lancaster 
soon rose in open rebellion, and compelled the king to re- 
sign the crown, and he was soon afterward privately assas- 
sinated. 

12. Henry IV., on the deposition of Richard, ascended 
the throne. A rebellion was immediately raised by the house 
of York, but was soon quelled. This reign was signalized 
by the first religious persecution in England, and the follow- 



MODERN HISTORY. 61 

©rs of Wickliffwere rigorously pursued. The youthful dis- 
orders of his son, the prince of Wales, greatly embittered the 
life of Henry, and he died at the age of forty-six. 

13. His son, Edward V., succeeding to the throne, inva- 
ded France, and conquered the whole country. This war 
was terminated by a treaty, in which it was agreed that Hen- 
ry should marry the daughter of Charles Vlf of France, and 
receive the whole kingdom for her dowry, which, till his 
death, her father should govern as regent. 

14. By the aid of the Maid of Orleans, a young enthusiast, 
Charles VII. recovered all France except Calais and Guig- 
nes. The Maid, after having accomplished her promise of 
delivering the kingdom, was taken prisoner by the English, 
and barbarously put to death. This impolitick act, increased 
the aversion of the French to the English yoke, and hastened 
their expulsion from the kingdom. 

15. But little progress had been as yet made in the arts, 
even in England and France, the two most polished king- 
doms in Europe. Houses, even in cities, were roofed with 
thatch; glass in windows was rare, and the floors were 
carpeted with straw. Wine was sold only at the shops of 
apothecaries, and the use of linen for shirts was a very rare 
luxury. Some of the household of Henry III., who were 
indicted for robbing on the highway, plead in excuse, that 
the king allowed them no wages. 

16. About the middle of the fourteenth century, the Turks 
crossed over into Europe, and took Adrianople. The Greek 
empire was at this time fast hastening to its fall. The em- 
peror, John Palseologus, was forced to conclude a treaty 
with the sultan, Amurat, and give his son as hostage. 

17. Bajazet, the successor of Amurat, compelled the em- 
peror to destroy his fort at Galata, and to admit a Turkish 
officer into the city. He now made preparations for besieg- 
ing Constantinople in form, but the Asiatick princes having 
invited the prince of the Usbeck Tartars to aid them against 
the Ottoman power, he was forced to change his purpose and 
defend himself. 

18. Tamerlane was flattered by this request, and imperi- 
ously summoned the Turk to renounce his conquests. He 
was answered with a proud defiance. The two armies met 
near Angora, and Bajazet was defeated and taken prisoner. 
Tamerlane made Samarcarid the capital of his empire, and 

6* 



62 MODERN HISTORY, 

for a time it was the seat of learning, politeness, and the arte. 

19. Mahomet IL, son of Amurat, besieged and took Con- 
stantinople, and thus extinguished the eastern empire of the 
Romans, A. D. 1453. Constantinople had been the capital 
of the empire one thousand one hundred and twenty-three 
years. The Turks preserved all the publick edifices ; chan- 
ged the churches into mosques, but left the Christians the ex- 
ercise of their own religion. 

20. The government of Turkey is an absolute monar- 
chy. The legislative and executive authority rests in the sul- 
tan, and his power is subject to no constitutional control. 
Religious opinion, however, limits it in some degree ; but 
the fear of deposition and assassination is a stronger restraint, 
and hence there is seldom an abuse of power. 

21. Taxes and customs, annual tributes, stated gifts, and 
the confiscation of estates, are the sources of the sultan's re- 
venue. The certain and fixed revenues are, however, small 
when compared with those which are arbitrary. The abso- 
lute power of the sultan enables him to execute vast projects 
at a small expense. 

QUESTIONS. 

2. What is known of the true history of Scotland previous to the 
feign of Malcolm III.? — 2. Who were the immediate successors of Mal- 
colm ? — 3. Who were competitors for the crown on the death of Alex 
ander III.? — 4. Who restored the fallen fortunes of his country? — 5. 
What became of Wallace? — 6. Who succeeded Edward I. ori the 
throne of England ? — 7. Who made war upon her husband ? — 8. Who 
revenged the murder of his father, Edward II.? — 9. By what right did 
Edward III. claim the crown of France? — 10. Who was defeated at 
the battle of Poictiers, and died a prisoner in London ? — 11. Who suc- 
ceeded Edward III. in England ? — 12. Who ascended the throne on 
the deposition of Richard ? — 13. Who conquered France? — 14. By 
whose aid did Charles VII. recover France? — 15. What progress had 
been made in the arts in Europe ? — 16. When did the Turks cross in- 
to Europe ? — 17. Who compelled the emperor to destroy his fort at 
Galata ? — 18. Who summoned the Turk to renounce his conquests? 
— 19. Who took Constantinople? — 20. What is the government of 
Turkey? — 21. What are the sources of the sultan's revenue? 



SECTION VI. 

FRANCE. SPAIN. ITALY. SCOTLAND. 

1. The acquisition of Burgundy and Province toward the 
close of the fifteenth century, greatly increased the power of 



MODERN HISTORY. 68 

France. Lewis XI. was then the reigning monarch. He 
was an odious compound of vice, cruelty and superstition, yet 
was the author of many wise and excellent publick regula- 
tions. He gave great encouragement to commerce, restrai- 
ned the nobles, and imposed salutary regulations upon the 
courts of justice. 

2. Naples was conquered by Charles VIII., son and suc- 
cessor of Lewis. A league between the several European 
powers, soon compelled the French troops to evacuate Na- 
ples, and the rightful sovereign was restored to his throne. 
This confederacy gave rise to the plan of maintaining a bal- 
ance of power among the European states, so that no one 
may be able to obtain an inordinate aggrandizement. 

3. The marriage of Isabella, queen of Castile, and Fer- 
dinand of Aragon, united into one those two monarchies. 
At that time Spain was in great disorder, on account of the 
depredations of the nobles and their vassals. To repress 
these disorders, was the first object of the new sovereigns, 
and for this purpose a society was instituted called the holy 
brotherhood. The inquisition also, about the same time sig- 
nalized itself by its sanguinary persecutions. 

4. In the year 1491, the Moors were driven from Spain, 
after having been in possession of the country eight hundred 
years. They were, however, permitted to retire to a moun- 
tainous part of the kingdom, where they enjoyed, without 
molestation, their laws and their religion. From the time of 
the expulsion of the Moors, Ferdinand took the title of king 
of Spain. 

5. In the year 1492, the Jews, to the number of one hun- 
dred and fifty thousand, were driven from Spain, on the absurd 
pretence, that they monopolized the commerce of the king- 
dom. Thus Spain voluntarily deprived herself of her most 
industrious and useful citizens. Other states following their 
example, the Jews often became victims of a persecution 
equally inhuman. 

6. The discovery of America, was an event which distin- 
guished the reign of Ferdinand, This, while it stimulated 
the spirit of industry and enterprise in all the neighbouring 
nations, produced but little impression on Spain, who might 
have monopolized its benefits. In fact, Spain has probably 
derived the least benefit from that event, of any of the mari- 
time nations of Europe, 



64 MODERN HISTORY. 

7. Alexander V., who now filled the papal chair, was de^ 
testable for his crimes, which history records with horrour. 
He and his son, Caesar Borgia, attained every object of their 
ambition, but by the vilest means, and they met with that re- 
tribution which their crimes deserved. Alexander died by 
poison, and his son was carried a prisoner to Spain, where he 
perished in miserable obscurity. 

8. The marriage of Henry VI. of England, with Marga- 
ret of Anjou, daughter of the king of Naples, greatly alien- 
ated the nobles. The factions of York and Lancaster, em- 
broiled the kingdom, and Henry, who was a weak prince, 
soon had a powerful competitor for the crown. 

9. Richard, duke of York, a descendant of the ancient 
kings of England, claimed the throne. Henry was subject 
to periodical insanity, and this greatly strengthened the party 
of Richard. Henry was defeated and taken prisoner in the 
battle of St. Albans, 1455, and York was declared protector 
of the. realm. A red and white rose distinguished the two 
factions of York and Lancaster. 

10. The duke of Warwick, a powerful nobleman, disgust- 
ed with Edward IV., joined the faction of Lancaster, and 
Henry was restored to the throne. But this change was of 
no duration. The faction of York again renewed th^ contest, 
and Warwick, who had now received the epithet of king-ma* 
ker r was slain at the battle of Barnet, 1472. This event pro- 
yed fatal to the Lancasterian faction, and Henry was soon 
after taken prisoner, at the battle of Tewksbury, and sent to 
the tower, where he was privately assassinated. 

11. Edward IV. was a cruel and tyrannical prince. Ha- 
ving secured himself on the throne, by putting to death all 
his competitors, he gave himself up entirely to his passions. 
On the most frivilous pretence he put to death his brother 
Clarence. Preparing for a war with France, he died sudden- 
ly, in the forty-second year of his age, leaving his son Ed- 
ward to inherit his throne, and his brother, the duke of Glou- 
cester, to act as protector. 

12. Edward V., and his brother, were smothered in the 
tower while asleep, by the order of the duke of Gloucester, 
(Richard III.,) who was now proclaimed king. Their bodies 
were not found till many years after ; when in taking down a 
flight of stairs, two coffins were discovered buried under them^ 
6ut they contained nothing except bones. 



MODERN HISTORY. 65 

13. The battle of Bosworth was fought 1485. Henry, 
duke of Richmond, the surviving heir of the house of Lan- 
caster, aided by Charles VIII., of France, landed in England, 
and revived the spirits of a party now almost extinguished. 
Richard met him at Bosworth, and was defeated and slain. 
Henry was immediately crowned ; placing on his head, with 
his own hands, the same crown which Richard had worn in 
battle. 

14. The marriage of Henry of Lancaster, with Elizabeth 
of the house of York, united the two factions, and gave peace 
to the kingdom. He was wise and politick, and under him 
the kingdom recovered from the wounds it had received in 
the long and unhappy contests between the two factions. 
Excellent laws were passed in this reign, and produced as 
their fruit, industry, good order and subordination. Henry 
died at the age of fifty-two, and in the twenty-fourth year 
of his reign. 

15. The feudal system was carried to its greatest extent 
in Scotland. The power of the greater barons, by rendering 
them independent of their sovereign, and often his rivals, was 
a perpetual source of turbulence and disorder to the kingdom. 
To retrench the powers and possessions of these barons, was 
a constant and favourite policy of the Scottish kings ; but 
they found a refractory spirit and a difficult task. 

16. James I., of Scotland, was carried prisoner to Lon- 
don, where he was detained captive eighteen years. He 
passed his time there in adorning his mind with every valua- 
ble accomplishment. On his return to his kingdom, he turn- 
ed his whole attention to the improvement of his people : 
enacted excellent laws ; exacted them with vigorous resolu- 
tion ; firmly restrained the factious spirit of the nobles, and 
punished their excesses with severity. He was murdered in 
the forty-fourth year of his age. 

17. His son, James II., succeeded him. He pursued the 
same course that his father had done, but not with the same 
moderation. He succeeded, however, in quelling the fac- 
tious nobles, slaying with his own hands the earl of Doug- 
lass, who justified his rebellious practises, even in the pre- 
sence of the king. James was killed in the thirtieth year of 
his age, by the bursting of a cannon, A. D. 1460* His *so% 
James III., succeeded him, 



66 MODERN HISTORY. 

18. He was a weak prince ; but without the talents of hi» 
predecessors, he affected to tread in the same steps. In 
order to humble his nobles, he bestowed his favours upon 
foreigners, an insult which the former revenged by rebellion. 
In an engagement near Bannockburn, the rebels were suc- 
cessful, and the king was slain. He perished in the thirty- 
fifth year of his age, and was succeeded by his son James IV. 

19. He was a great and accomplished prince. His tal- 
ents were equalled only by his virtues, and his measures were 
the dictates of true patriotism, and he won, by well-timed 
confidence, the affections of his nobles. He married Mar- 
garet, the daughter of Henry VII. of England ; but the ami- 
cable intention of this step was frustrated. James invaded 
England, and was defeated and slain at the battle of Flod- 
den, 1513. Almost all his nobles fell in the same battle. 

20. Anarchy and misrule prevailed in Scotland during the 
minority of James V., who was an infant at the time his father 
was slain. Having attempted to humble his haughty nobles, 
they determined on revenge, and sacrificed their honour and 
their country, to accomplish their purpose. In a war with 
England, during an engagement, in which James might have 
been, by their constancy, victorious, ten thousand of them 
surrendered to five hundred of the enemy. James soon af- 
ter died. He was the father of Mary, afterwards the unfor- 
tunate queen of Scots. 

QUESTIONS. 

1, What, at the close of the fifteenth century, greatly increased the 
power of France ? — 2. What was conquered by Charles VIII. of 
France ? — 3. What-event united the two kingdoms of Castile and Ara- 
gon ? — 4. When were the Moors driven from Spain ? — 5. When were 
the Jews ? — 6. What event distinguished the reign of Ferdinand ? — 7. 
Who at this time filled the papal chair? — 8. What event alieanted the 
nobles of England? — 9. Who claimed the English crown ? — 10. Who 
joined the Lancasterians and restored Henry to the throne ? — 11. What 
was the character of Edward IV. ? — 12. What became of Edward V. 
and his brother ?— 13. What battle was fought 1485?-— 14. What event 
united the factions of Lancaster and York ? — 15. What system was 
carried to its greatest extent in Scotland? — 16. Who was carried pri- 
soner to London? — 17. Who succeeded James I. in Scotland? — 18. 
What was his character? — 19. What was the character of James IV.? 

20, What was the state of Scotland during the minority of James V.I 



MODERN HISTORY. 67 

SECTION VII. 

Progress of literature, progress of commerce, dis- 
coveries OF THE PORTUGUESE. CHARLES V. FRANCIS I. 

1. The Arabians were the first restorers of learning in 
Europe. The caliphs procured from the Greek emperors 
copies of the ancient manuscripts, and had them carefully 
translated into the Arabick; esteeming those principally, 
which treated of mathematicks, physicks, and metaphysicks. 
In the progress of their conquests, they disseminated their 
knowledge, and in all the countries which they subdued, 
founded schools and colleges. 

2. Alfred, who was himself a man of science, introduced 
a taste for literature into England ; but the subsequent disor- 
ders of the kingdom, plunged it again into barbarism. Learn- 
ing was, however, kept alive by the monks, who employed 
themselves in transcribing a few of the ancient authors, 
along with the legendary lives of their saints. 

3. Roger Bacon, an English friar, whose comprehensive 
mind was filled with the stores of ancient learning, appeared 
in the fifteenth century. He made important discoveries in 
astronomy, opticks, chymistry, medicine, and mechanicks. 
He reformed the kalendar, invented the construction of tele- 
scopick glasses, and was probably acquainted with the com- 
position of gunpowder. 

4. A taste for classical learning, in the fifteenth century, 
led to the discovery of ancient authors. But this taste was 
not generally diffused. France and England were extremely 
barbarous. The library at Oxford contained only six hundred 
volumes, and in the royal library at Paris, were only two 
classical authors. On the fall of the eastern empire, the 
Greeks dispersing among the neighbouring nations, carried 
with them a taste for polite literature. 

5. The art of printing, which was discovered at Strasburg, 
by John Guttenburg, in 1440, greatly facilitated the progress 
of literature, and gave assurance of the perpetuity of every 
valuable art. A succession of popes, possessed of liberal 
and enlightened minds, greatly encouraged learning and 
science. 

6. The Periplus of Hanno, which sailed from Carthage to 
the coast of Guinea, within four or five degrees of the equa- 
&qy % was the boldest naval enterprise of the ancients. They 



68 MODERN HISTORY. 

had a very imperfect knowledge of the earth, and supposed 
that the torrid and frigid zones were uninhabitable. Their 
world extended to the sixty-third degree of north latitude, 
and to the equator south. 

7. Genoa, Florence, and Pisa, were among the earliest 
modern commercial cities. They traded to the coasts of 
Egypt and the Levant, for the spices and other merchandise 
of Arabia and India. The sugar cane was planted in Sici- 
ly in the twelfth century, and thence was carried to Madeira, 
and ultimately to the West Indies. A silk manufacture was 
established at Palermo, in the year 1130. 

8. About the end of the twelfth century, commerce began 
to spread into the north of Europe. To protect their trade 
from piracy, Lubeck, Hamburgh, and most of the northern 
ports, joined in a confederacy under certain general regula- 
tions, termed the league of the Hanse towns. This union be- 
came at length so formidable in point of strength, that its alli- 
ance was courted by most of the powers of Europe. 

9. The woollen manufactory was considerable in England 
in the twelfth century. Henry II. incorporated the wea- 
vers of London, and gave them various privileges and im- 
munities. By a law passed in his reign, all cloth manufac- 
tured of foreign wool was condemned to be burnt. During 
the civil wars, trade and manufactures languished ; but after 
the reign of Henry VII., they began to revive and flourish. 

10. Henry VII. gave great encouragement to all manu- 
factures, but especially woollen. He invited foreign artists 
into the kingdom, and settled them at Leeds, Wakefield, and 
other places. The navigation acts were passed in his reign, 
and treaties were made with the continental nations for the 
protection of merchant shipping. 

11. In the middle of the fourteenth century, the compass 
was first used in sailing, but another century had elapsed, 
before mariners ventured far out of sight of their own coasts. 
The Atlantick ocean was supposed to be an almost bound- 
less expanse, reaching to the eastern shores of Asia; and a 
promontory in the twenty-ninth degree of north latitude, on 
the continent of Africa, was supposed to be the limit of the 
habitable earth south, and therefore was called cape Non. 

12. John, king of Portugal, in the beginning of the fif- 
teenth century, sent out a few ships to explore the African 
coast, which went within two degrees of the tropick. In the 



MODERN HISTORY. m 

next reign, a single Portuguese ship, being driven out to sea, 
reached the island of Porto Santo, one of the Madeira isles! 
In 1420, the Portuguese established a colony on Madeira., 
and planted the vine and the sugar cane. 

13. Vasco de Gama doubled the cape of Good Hope, and 
sailing on, passed the mouths of the Persian and Arabian 
gulfs, and arrived at Calicut, in the East Indies. He enter- 
ed into a treaty with the rajah, and returned to Lisbon with 
specimens of the wealth and productions of the country. 

14. Antwerp and Amsterdam, about this time rose into 
commercial importance, and became the great marts of the 
north. The former was destroyed in the sixteenth century 
by the blocking up of the Scheldt. On this event occurring, 
Amsterdam rose in wealth and importance, and the United 
Provinces, dependant on industry alone for their support, be- 
came an example of commercial activity to all nations. 

15. Charles Y., the son of Philip, archduke of Austria^ 
and Joanna, the daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, came to 
the throne of Spain in 1516. In the right of his grandfather 
Maximillian, he preferred his claim to the empire of Germany 
and obtained it, although he had for a competitor, Francis I,. 
king of France. Henceforth, these two princes became im- 
placable enemies, and during the whole course of their reigns, 
were almost continually engaged in war with each other. 

16. At the battle of Pavia, Francis was taken prisoner, 
and carried to Madrid. He regained his liberty by the ces- 
sion of Burgundy, and the superiority of Flanders and Ar- 
tois. The states refused to ratify this treaty, and the failure 
was compromised for a sum of money. 

17. The disorders of Germany, occasioned by the dis- 
putes concerning religion, induced Charles to conclude the 
peace of Crepi, in 1544. Soon after, Francis died. He was 
a prince of great abilities and spirit, of a generous and noble 
mind, and his misfortunes were only occasioned by being 
obliged to contend with a power exceeding him both in re« 
sources and policy. The order of Jesuits was founded about 
this time by Ignatius Loyola. 

18. Charles V. resigned to his son and brother all his do« 
minions, in 1556, and retired from the world at the age of 53. 
The protestants in Germany, by their constant struggles to 
preserve their liberties and their religion, gave him great 
trouble, especially in the latter part of bis reign. Henry II, 

7 



70 MODERN HISTORY. 

of France, was as formidable an antagonist as his father 
Francis, and Charles retired from the world under the full 
conviction of the vanity of all its greatness, and never after, 
during his life, took any interest in its concerns. 

19. Maximilian I. formed the Germanick confederation. 
He divided the empire into ten circles ; each circle to send 
its representative to the imperial chamber, which was estab- 
lished for the settlement of all difficulties. The constitution 
of Germany does not, however, secure the rights of the sub- 
ject, but provides only for the independence of the several 
princes, guaranteeing to each the enjoyment of his sovereign- 
ty. Each state has its own constitution and laws, some com- 
paratively free, others more despotick. 

20. The electors, the princes, and the free cities, consti- 
tute the diet. The diet has power to enact all publick laws. 
The emperor must propose these laws, and no complaint or 
request can be made to the diet, unless by the approbation of 
the elector, the archbishop of Mentz. These are some of 
the great defects of the German confederacy, and as each 
prince has the power of contracting foreign alliances, the 
whole confederacy is frequently involved in serious difficulty. 

QUESTIONS. 

1, Who were the first restorers of learning in Europe? — 2. Who 
introduced a taste for literature into England? — 3. What distinguished 
man appeared in the fifteenth century? — 4. What led to the discove- 
ry of ancient authors ? — 5. What greatly facilitated the progress of 
literature ? — 6. What was the boldest naval enterprise of the ancients? 
— 7. What were among the earliest commercial cities? — 8. When did 
commerce begin to spread into the north of Europe ? — 9. What man- 
ufactory was considerable in England in the twelfth century ? — 10, 
Who gave great encouragement to all manufactures ? — 11. When was 
the compass first used in sailing? — 12. By whom were ships sent out 
to explore the African coast, in the beginning of the fifteenth century ? 
— 13. Who doubled the cape of Good Hope and discovered the East 
Indies? — 14. What two cities became the great marts of the north? 
15. Who came to the throne of Spain in 1516? — 16. Where was Fran- 
cis I. of France taken prisoner? — 17. What induced Charles to con- 
clude the peace of Crepi in 1544? — 18. Who resigned his dominions 
and retired from the world at the age of 5^? — 19. Who formed the 
Germanick confederation ?— 20. Who constitutes the diet of Germany.' 



MODERN HISTORY 71 

SECTION VIIL 

REFORMATION. OTTOMAN POWER. STATE OF PERSIA. 
INDIA. CHINA. 

1. The abuse of the sale of indulgences, and the vicious 
lives of the clergy, were the principal causes which led to the 
Reformation. Pope Leo X., in order to defray the vast ex- 
penses in which his taste and splendour involved him, found 
it necessary, either to invent some new method of raising 
money, or to press some former plan with greater vigour. 
Accordingly, he instituted the sale of indulgences, or remis- 
sions from the pains of purgatory. 

2. Martin Luther, a Benedictine monk, witnessing the 
detestable conduct of the agents of the pope employed in this 
business, ventured to preach against it, and to arraign the 
power that authorized it. He found many willing hearers, 
particularly in the electorate of Saxony, and was countenan- 
ced by the elector, Frederick. 

3. Henry VIIL, of England, was one of the first who 
wrote against Luther, and for this piece of service, the pope 
rewarded him with the title of " Defender of the Faith." 
Charles V. also took part against Luther, and summoned him 
to answer for his doctrines at the diet of Worms. Here, af- 
ter defending his doctrines with firmness, by the aid of the 
elector Frederick, he made his escape, and still propagated 
his opinions with zeal, ability, and success. 

4. Zuinglius, about the same time, rose as a reformer in 
Switzerland. He preached the new doctrines with such 
zeal and success, that the whole canton of Zurich was con- 
verted, and the senate publickly abolished mass, and purified 
the churches. Berne followed the example, a/ter a solemn 
deliberation in the senate, which lasted two months. But 
other cantons took up arms in defence of their religion, and the 
protestants were defeated in a desperate engagement, 1531. 

5. Wickliff, in the middle of the fourteenth century, in 
England, attacked the doctrines of Rome, and prepared the 
way for a reformation. He translated the Bible into the ver- 
nacular tongue, but at that time his followers were not nume- 
rous. Henry VIIL was a prince of intemperate passions* 
and must be considered the immediate cause of the reforma- 
tion in England. He quarrelled with the pope, and the re- 
sult was 3 a total rejection of his authority. 



72 MODERN HISTORY. 

6. In the reign of Edward VI., the protestant religion was 
established in Britain. He died young, however, and was 
succeeded by Mary, who was a bigoted catholick. A per- 
secution for religion began soon after her accession, and ra- 
ged with great fury during the whole of her reign, which las- 
ted five years. In that period, above eight hundred victims 
were burnt at the stake for their religious opinions. 

7. The Turks were a great and conquering people in the 
fifteenth century. They subdued Syria and Mesopotamia, 
undertook the conquest of Egypt, and put an end to the go- 
vernment of the Arabian princes. 

8. The knights of St. John, had, for many years, posses- 
sed the island of Rhodes. The Turks attacked this island 
with a hundred and forty thousand men, and four hundred 
ships. The knights, aided by the English, Italians and Span- 
iards, made a noble defence, but after a siege of many 
months, they were forced to capitulate, and evacuate the 
island, 1522. Since that time, Rhodes has been the proper- 
ty of the Turks. The maritime jurisprudence of Europe is 
founded on the commercial regulations of the ancient Rho- 
dians. 

9. About the end of the fifteenth century, Persia under- 
went a revolution on account of religion. Hadyr or Sophi, 
a religious enthusiast, established a new sect of Mahometans; 
and the Persians, glad of any thing to distinguish them from 
their enemies, the Turks, eagerly embraced his doctrines. 
Following the example of Mahomet, he propagated his opin- 
ions with the sword, and in a short time subdued all Persia 
and Armenia. 

10. The government of Persia is despotick. The sove- 
reign draws his revenue from a small yearly tax on every sub- 
ject, and from stated gifts on particular occasions. The 
crown is hereditary, but females are excluded. There is no 
other rank in Persia, than that which is attached to office ; 
and this is held only during the sovereign's pleasure. The 
national religion is Mahometan, as reformed by Sophi. 

11. Herodotus furnishes the earliest accounts of India, 
and the account which he gives of the character of the peo- 
ple, though he wrote a hundred years before Alexander the 
Great, corresponds perfectly with that of the present race of 
Hindoos. From this we infer, that their laws, manners, and 
customs, are subject to very little variation. 



MODERN HISTORY. 73 

12. As early as the year 1000, the Mahometans began to 
establish an empire in India. Mahmoud conquered a great 
part of the country, extirpating the Hindoo religion wherever 
he came, and establishing the Mahometan in its stead. One 
of his successors, in 1194, penetrated to Benares, and fixed 
the seat of his government at Delhi, which has continued to 
be the capital of the Mogul princes. 

13. The British East India company, in the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, conquered Bengal and some other 
provinces. These territories afford the company an im- 
mense revenue, as they have the benefit of the whole com- 
merce of the Mogul empire, together with Arabia, Persia, Thi- 
bet, Siam, Malacca, China, and most of the oriental islands. 

14. The whole body of the Hindoos are divided into four 
classes. The Brahmins are the cultivators of science ; these 
are the first class. The second are appointed to take care 
of the state. The third are magistrates in peace, and sol- 
diers in war. The fourth are artisans, labourers, and ser- 
vants. These distinctions are perpetual, and descend from 
generation to generation. Every man is obliged to follow 
the profession, and remain in the class of his father : hence 
every one knows from earliest life, the station and employ- 
ment assigned to him. 

15. A system of feudalism is a characteristic!* in the civil 
policy of the Hindoos. The rights of land flow from the 
sovereign, to whom the husbandmen pay a certain duty, and 
their possessions descend to their children on the same con- 
dition. One class of officers has the care of agriculture, 
tanks, highways, &c: another regulates the police of cities, 
while a third attends to the military department. 

16. The government and laws of China have been permanent 
from time immemorial. The reigning family has been chang- 
ed, but its princes have wisely forborne to make any change 
in the principles of government. The Tartars conquered 
China in the tenth century, and the same race of Tartars oc- 
cupy the throne to this day. 

17. The Hindoos were probably the progenitors of the 
Chinese. The ancient Sanscrit records mention a class 
termed Chinas, which, at an early period emigrated from Hin- 
doostan to the east of Bengal. As the condition of the arts 
and sciences are stationary with the Chinese, this proves that 
they have not originated with them, and many of their pecu- 
7* 



74 MODERN HISTORY. 



. 



liarities, institutions and manners, bear a strong resemblance 
to those of the Hindoos. 

18. The government of China is an absolute monarchy * 
The patriarchal system pervades the whole, and binds all the 
subjects of this vast empire in the strictest subordination. 
Every father is absolute in his family, and may inflict any pun- 
ishment, short of death upon his children. The mandarines 
have the same power in their districts, and the emperor is ab- 
solute over the mandarines, and over every subject of the 
empire. 

19. Merit, and that chiefly literary, is the only qualifica- 
tion for office. The civil mandarines, and all magistrates 
and judges, are appointed to office according to the measure 
of their knowledge and mental endowments. No office is 
hereditary, but any one may aspire to it. The penal laws 
of China are remarkably severe. There are three judicial 
tribunals. One judges of the qualifications of the manda- 
rines ; another inspects the morals and manners of the peo- 
ple, and a third reviews the laws, the conduct of magistrates, 
and even ©f the emperor himself. 

20. Agriculture in China is carried to the highest degree 
of improvement. There is not a spot of waste land in the 
whole empire, nor any which is not under the highest cultiva- 
tion. The emperor annually holds the plough, as an exam- 
ple to his subjects, and the day on which he does this is kept 
as a festival. 

21. The religion of China is different in the different ranks 
of society. There is no religion of the state. Many of the 
higher ranks believe in one Supreme Being, and they worship 
him without any idolatrous rites. The Lama of Thibet is 
regarded as the high priest of this religion. There are seve- 
ral other sects who believe in magick, and are idolaters, wor- 
shiping a great number of hideous idols. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What were the principal causes which led to the Reformation 1-2. 
Who first dared to preach against the abuse in the sale of indulgences: 
3. Who was one of the first that wrote against Luther? — 4. Who rose 
as a reformer in Switzerland, about the same time that Luther rose 
in Germany ?— 5. Who in England, about the middle of the fourteenth 
century attacked the doctrines of Rome ? — 6. In whose reign was the 
protestant religion established in England ? — 7. What is said of the 
Turks in the fifteenth century ? — 8. Who possessed the island of Rhodes 
for many years ? — 9. At what time did a revolution occur in Persia oii 



MODERN HISTORY. 7S 

account of religion ?— 10. What is the government of Persia?— 11, 
What writer furnishes us with the earliest accounts of India? — 12. When 
did the Mahometans begin to establish an empire in India ? — 13. Who, 
in the beginning of the eighteenth century, conquered Bengal and the 
adjacent provinces ?— 14. Into how many classes are the Hindoos di- 
vided ?— 15. What is a characteristick in the civil policy of the Hindoos ? 
16. What is said of the government and laws of China ? — 17. Who were 
probably the progenitors of the Chinese ? — 19. What is the govern- 
ment of China? — 19. What is the qualification for office in China? — 
20. What, in China, is carried to the highest degree of improvement ? 
— 21. What is said of the religion of China? 

SECTION IX. 

SPAIN. NETHERLANDS. FRANCE. ENGLAND. 

1. Philip II. succeeded his father Charles V. on the throne 
of Spain. The balance of power was at this time held by 
England, France, Spain, and Germany, all of them at that 
time flourishing and respectable kingdoms, and governed by 
sovereigns of more than ordinary talents. Philip, in addition 
to the sovereignty of Spain, the two Sicilies, Milan and the 
Netherlands, had, by his marriage with Mary, queen of Eng- 
land, the control for a few years of the power of that kingdom. 

2. An attempt to repress the protestant religion in the Ne- 
therlands, by the arm of the inquisition, led to a revolt of its 
inhabitants from the crown of Spain. The duke of Alva, 
famous in history for his cruelties and rigorous severity, was 
sent to repress the rebellion, and the inquisition began its 
work. His ill-timed severity completely alienated the minds 
of the people from the government, as well as the religion of 
Spain, and they only wanted a leader to give union to their 
measures. 

3. William, prince of Orange, a count of the German 
empire, was chosen stadtholder, or chief. He had incurred 
the papal displeasure by his attachment to the protestants, 
and was under the sentence of the inquisition. He raised 
an army, and compelled Spain to give up the idea of for- 
cing the rebels to return to their duty. Seven of the pro- 
vinces out of seventeen united in a league, in 1579, and 
agreed to defend their liberties. These constituted the re- 
publick of Holland. 

4. The government of Holland was republican. Each 
province preserved its laws and independence, but the right 



7G MODERN HISTORY. 

of making treaties, and regulating the common affairs of the 
republick, was vested in a representative council, called the 
States General. An important evil in this constitution, and 
often a dangerous one was, that in all publick measures, all 
the towns and nobles of a province, must deliberate and in- 
struct their deputy, before the states general could take the 
matter into consideration. 

5. The acquisition of Portugal, in some measure compen- 
sated Philip for the loss of the Netherlands. After the death 
of Henry, king of Portugal, Antonio, prior of Crato, and 
Philip, were competitors for the crown. Philip defeated his 
rival in an engagement at sea, and without farther difficulty 
took possession of the kingdom, A. D. 1580. 

6. Elizabeth, queen of England, having given aid to the 
revolted Netherlands, Philip, in revenge, fitted out a fleet of 
a hundred and fifty ships of war, with twenty-seven thousand 
men, and thre<? thousand pieces of cannon, to make an inva- 
sion upon England. This fleet was called the invincible «■- 
mada. The English fleet, consisting of a hundred and eight 
sail, attacked the Spanish ships in the night, and burnt and 
destroyed most of the squadron. A violent storm drove the 
remainder upon the rocks and sands of Zealand, and only 
fifty ships, and six thousand men returned to Spain, 1588. 

7. An impolitick and violent persecution, by Henry II., 
the son and successor of Francis I., caused the reformation 
to make greater progress in France, than it probably would 
have otherwise done. Henry had aided the protestants of 
Germany in resisting the despotism of Charles V.; yet he 
showed no mercy to their brethren in his own kingdom. 
The catholicks every where attacked the protestants, and a 
furious civil war was the consequence. 

8. On the night of the twenty-third of August, 1572, the 
massacre of St. Bartholomew took place. A treacherous 
peace had been concluded by the catholicks, and the chiefs of 
the protestant party were invited to court, and received dis- 
tinguished marks of the royal favour. The ringing of the 
matin bell was the signal for a general massacre, and vast 
multitudes of every age and condition were put to the sword 
without mercy. 

9. Charles IX. was then king of France, and assisted in 
the murder of his subjects. His character was most execra- 
ble ; and as his life was a curse, so his death was a blessing 



MODERN HISTORY. TT 

to the kingdom. He died after a reign of fourteen years, 
and was succeeded by his brother, the duke of Anjou, a prince 
of weak capacity, and wholly unfit to compose the disorders 
of the kingdom. The scorn of his subjects and the dupe of 
faction, he was assassinated in 1£>89. 

10. Henry of Navarre, a protestant, succeeded him. His 
character was excellent, and after many struggles, he succee- 
ded in restoring the kingdom to order. But his title was not 
acknowledged by the catholicks, and as religion was the sole 
cause of the disunion of France, Rosni, duke of Sully, the 
able minister and devoted assistant of Henry, advised him to 
profess himself a catholick. He accordingly abjured the pro- 
testant religion at St. Denis, and was crowned king 1594. 

11. To the able counsels, and unwearied industry of Sul- 
ly, Henry owed most of his successes. Rosni had been ed- 
ucated with Henry, and a strong and mutual attachment sub- 
sisted between them. Sully has in his memoirs of Henry, 
beautifully depicted the life and character of his master. In 
them we see, not only the great designs, but the private vir- 
tues of this illustrious prince, who, while he was arbiter of the 
nations of Europe, was the father of a happy people. 

12. Henry was assassinated at the age of fifty-seven, May 
4, 1610, by Ravaillac, an insane fanatick. This event filled 
all France with consternation and sorrow. At the time of his 
death, he was meditating the design of a perpetual peace be- 
tween the states of Europe ; a design highly characteristick 
of the benevolent mind of its author. His minister, on the 
death of his master, retired to private life, and employed him- 
self in writing his memoirs. 

13. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII., succeeded to the 
throne of England, on the death of her sister Mary. In her 
reign the kingdom attained a high degree of splendour. Her 
talents enabled her to discern and pursue the true interests of 
her people, while she at the same time maintained the balance 
of power in Europe. It was her fortune to have able minis- 
ters, and her merit to place confidence in their counsels. 

14. Her conduct toward Mary, queen of Scots, who was 
her cousin, has fixed an indelible stain upon her character. 
Mary, having been unfortunate in her own kingdom, and 
compelled to resign the crown to her infant son, took refuge 
in England, from her enemies, and implored the protection 
of Elizabeth, The queen ordered her to be kept in confine* 



78 MODERN HISTORY. 

ment ; and after a lapse of eighteen years, on pretence of 
her being engaged in a conspiracy against the government, 
put her to death. 

15. In 1603, at the age of seventy-six, Elizabeth died. 
Her talents were great, and the firmness of her mind was 
unequalled ; but her private character was sullied by cruelty, 
hypocrisy, and an inordinate love of admiration. Her max- 
ims of government were despotick, and she manifested little 
regard for the liberties of her people. She never allowed her 
parliaments to dispute her commands, and she had little rea- 
son to complain of their obstinacy. 

16. James VI., of Scotland, the son of Mary, queen of 
Scots, having been nominated by Elizabeth, succeeded her on 
the throne, and in his person both kingdoms were united. He 
is known in history as James I.; being the first of that name 
on the English throne. He was a prince of small talents, 
though of considerable learning ; yet he had but little vigour 
of mind, or political energy. He was infatuated with notions 
of kingly prerogative, and became very unpopular. 

17. Domestick events chiefly distinguished the reign of 
James. Several conspiracies were planned, but they were 
all discovered in season to prevent much injury. The most 
daring of these, and the one which came the nearest to exe- 
cution, was the one called the gunpowder treason. In this, 
the plan was, to blow up the king and both houses of parlia- 
ment, by means of powder placed under the parliament- 
house. The powder was placed, but one of the conspirators 
wishing to save the life of a friend, who was a member of 
the house of lords, wrote him a letter, which led to a dis- 
covery. 

18. Charles I. succeeded James. He came to the throne 
in a critical time. Publick opinion had undergone a change 
in regard to the regal prerogative, the powers of parliament, 
and the rights of the subject. Charles had not sufficient po- 
litical prudence to teach him the policy of yielding to the neces- 
sity of the times. 

19. The right of levying money without consent of parlia- 
ment, was the first subject of controversy. These taxes had 
been continued from reign to reign, and on this ground, the 
king conceived that he had a right to levy them, without any 
new grant ; and a member of the house of commons was 
imprisoned because he refused to pay them. This arbitrary 



MODERN HISTORY. 79 

measure produced a great ferment in the house of commons, 
and in consequence the parliament was dissolved. 

20. Religious enthusiasm increased the discontents. Arch- 
bishop Laud was at the head of ecclesiastical affairs, and by 
his advice, the penalties against the catholicks were relaxed, 
and he imprudently attempted to extend the English liturgy 
into Scotland. These measures greatly excited discontents 
among the Scots, and led to that bond termed the National 
Covenant, or oath of resistance to all religious innovations. 

21. Charles was finally brought to trial, and executed. He 
had been obliged to make concession after concession, till at 
last, being stripped of his authority, and all but the name of a 
king, he was forced to take up arms in defence of his life. 
After a variety of events, the constitution of England was 
overturned, the regal office nominally abolished, and a com- 
monwealth established. 

22. Oliver Cromwell, who had commanded a regiment of 
horse, under Fairfax, general of the parliament, was placed, 
or rather placed himself, at the head of the commonwealth. 
He marched to London with his army, and assuming an abso- 
lute control over the parliament, imprisoned all who resisted 
his authority. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who succeeded Charles V. in Spain?— 2. What led the Nether 
lands to revolt from Spain?— 3. Who was chosen stadtholder of the 
United Provinces ? — 4. What is the government of Holland? — 5. What 
in some measure compensated Philip for the loss of the Netherlands ? 
—6. Who gave aid to the revolted Netherlands ? — 7. What caused the 
reformation in France to make greater progress? — 8. When did the 
massacre of St. Bartholomew take place? — 9. Who was king of France 
at that time ?— 10. Who succeeded him ? — 11. To what did Henry owe 
much of his success? — 12. What became of Henry? — 13. Who suc- 
ceeded Mary on the throne of England? — 14. What fixed an indeli- 
ble stain on the character of Elizabeth ? — 15. When did Elizabeth 
die? — 16. Wly> was her successor? — 17. What chiefly distinguished 
the reign of James I.?— 18. Who succeeded him? — 19. What was the 
first subject of controversy between Charles and his parliament ? — - 
20. What increased the discontents ? — 21. What became of Charles? 
—22. Who was placed at the head of the commonwealth ? 



80 MODERN HISTORY. 

SECTION X. 

COMMONWEALTH OF ENGLAND. CHARLES II. JAMES II, 
BRITISH CONSTITUTION. BRITISH REVENUE. 

1. Scotland and Ireland, on the death of Charles I., readi- 
}y acknowledged the sovereignty of Charles II. Scotland, 
in particular, had protested against the doings of the English 
parliament, in the trial of the king. Before the Scots ac- 
knowledged Charles as king, however, they compelled him 
to sign the covenant, and to ratify their confession of Faith. 
Cromwell now made war upon the Scots, and defeated them 
at the battle of Dunbar. 

2. Charles, having been defeated in the decisive battle of 
Worcester, fled into France. Cromwell now returned in tri- 
umph to London, and soon after gained great advantages 
over the Dutch in a naval war, taking and destroying above 
sixteen hundred of their ships. These maritime successes 
led the parliament to conceive that the army was an unneces- 
sary incumbrance, and they determined to reduce it. To 
prevent this measure, Cromwell went to the house of Com- 
mons, and by the aid of his soldiers, turned them out of door ; 
and thus dissolved the parliament, and annihilated the repub- 
lick of England. 

3. The title of Lord Protector of the kingdom, was now 
bestowed upon Cromwell, and he was invested with the pow- 
er of making peace, declaring war, and forming alliances. 
An army of thirty thousand men was ordered to be kept up 
for the support of government. His administration was des- 
potick, but spirited and ^vigorous. He had a fixed revenue, 
and power to appoint his successor : he was king in all but 
the name. He died September 3, 1658. 

4. Richard Cromwell, his son, succeeded to the protector- 
ate, by his father's appointment. He was a man of weak 
understanding, and entirely unfit for a station of so much dif- 
ficulty, which he had wisdom enough to resign in a few 
months, and the family of the Cromwellssunk again into obscu- 
rity. Charles II. was now restored to the throne, and the na- 
tion returned to its former constitution and mode of govern- 
ment, with transports of joy, A. D. 1660. 

5. Charles was humane and complacent, but indolent, 
luxurious and prodigal. He was neither able to support the 
national honour abroad, nor to command respect and obedf- 



MODERN HISTORY. Si 

once at home, Dunkirk was sold in his reign, a measure 
which was highly offensive to the pride of the nation. He 
afterward united with the French in a war against the Dutch, 
and the republick of Holland was brought to the brink of 
destruction. 

6. An oath, abjuring papacy, was required of every officer 
of the government. This measure arose from the constant 
apprehension of the catholicks, whom the king was supposed 
to favour, as well as from the frequent reports of catholick 
plots and catholick conspiracies. James, duke of York, 
brother to the king, was, by act of parliament, excluded from 
the throne, because he was a catholick and refused to 
abjure. 

7. The epithets, whig and toiy, were first used in this 
reign. A whig, denoted one who was opposed to the king 
and his ministers and measures ; and tory, denoted the parti- 
sans of the crown. Both parties carried their principles to 
their full extent, and great dissatisfaction prevailed. Charles 
died February 6, 1685. 

8. James, duke of York, was his successor. His reign 
was short and inglorious. By an attempt to establish the 
catholick religion, in the room of the protestant, and by ex- 
pressing the most marked contempt for the parliament, and a 
firm purpose of exercising an unlimited despotism, he exci- 
sed and inflamed the passions and prejudices of the nation,, 
and he Was finally expelled from the throne and from the 
kingdom. 

9. William, prince of Orange, stadtholder of Holland, who 
had married Mary, the daughter of James, was elected by 
the parliament to the vacant throne. At this time, a decla- 
ration fixing the rights of the subject, and the prerogatives of 
the crown, was made. By this, the king cannot suspend the 
laws, or their execution ; he cannot levy money without con- 
sent of parliament ; the people have a right to petition the 
crown ; a standing army cannot be kept in time of peace ; 
elections must be free, and parliament must be frequently as- 
sembled. 

10. As far back as the Norman conquest, the rudiments of 
the British constitution may be traced. William the Con- 
queror, then divided the kingdom into sixty thousand two 
hundred and fifteen military fiefs, all held of the crown, and 
requiring the vassal to take up arms for his sovereign when- 

3 



S2 MODERN HISTORY. 

ever requested. The vassals, who often suffered from op« 
pression, struggled frequently for their freedom, but with little 
success. 

11. In the reign of Henry II., trial by jury was first estab- 
lished. This was another step toward freedom ; but John, 
the successor of Henry, imprudently resisting this natural 
course, was soon compelled to make very important conces- 
sions, and to sign the Magna Charta. The constitution of 
England, from that time, was that of a limited monarchy. 
Edward I. ratified the Magna Charta eleven times during 
his reign. 

12. In the reign of Charles II., the Habeas Corpus act was 
passed, and gave the utmost possible security for personal 
liberty. By this act every prisoner must be brought before 
a judge, the reason of his arrest certified, and if the cause of 
his imprisonment should be found illegal or insufficient, the 
judge is authorized and bound to discharge him. This act 
may be suspended in cases of iminent danger to the state, or 
during the existence of a conspiracy or a rebellion. 

1?. The king, lords, and commons, constitute the parlia- 
ment of England. The house of lords consists of all the 
temporal and spiritual peers of England ; sixteen peers from 
Ireland, and thirty-two from Scotland. The house of com- 
mons consists of representatives from all the counties and 
the principal towns and boroughs in the kingdom, and the 
two universities ; forty-five from Ireland, and one hundred 
from Scotland, making in all six hundred and fifty-eight 
members. The chancellor presides in the house of lords, 
and the speaker in the house of commons. The king has 
a negative on all the acts of parliament, and each house has 
a negative upon the decrees of the other. 

14. The king is vested with the executive power. He is the 
administrator of justice ; the fountain of honour ; the super- 
intendent of commerce ; the head of the church ; the com- 
mands in chief of the naval and land forces ; has the power 
of making peace and war, and is above all courts of justice, 
and is not responsible to any judicature for his conduct in 
the administration of the government. 

15. Once in three years, at least, the parliament used to 
be assembled, and. a notice of forty days was given before 
the time of its meeting. Though the king is head of (fee 
church, yet he cannot alter the established religion, nor franv 



MODERN HISTORY. 83 

Ecclesiastical regulations. These require an assembly of the 
clergy. With the administration of justice, the king cannot 
interfere, nor can he refuse his consent to the prosecution of 
crimes ; and though the sovereign is not amenable, yet his 
ministers maybe impeached for any acts of mal-administration. 

16. From taxes and customs, the revenue of England is 
chiefly derived. Taxes are either annual, a£ the land tax 
and malt tax; or perpetual, as the customs, excise, salt duty, 
postoffice duty, stamps, house and window tax, duties on ser- 
vants, hackney coaches, pensions, &c. The customs are a 
tax paid by the merchant on all imported and exported goods : 
the excise is an inland duty, laid sometimes on the consu- 
mer, and sometimes on the retailer. 

17. The payment of the interest of the national debt is the 
first object to which the revenue can be applied ; and the 
surplus is used for the ordinary purposes of government. A 
century ago, the national debt amounted to only sixteen mill- 
ions of pounds : it is now upwards of four hundred millions. 
As the revenue yearly produces something more than suffi- 
cient to pay the interest of the national debt, and to carry on 
the government, the surplus constitutes what is called a sink- 
ing fund, being applied to the extinguishing of the principal. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Where was the sovereignty of Charles II. first acknowledged ? — 
2. What became of Charles after the battle of Worcester ? — 3. What 
title was now given to Cromwell? — 4. Who succeeded him in the Pro- 
tectorate? — 5. What was the character of Charles IL? — 6. What was 
required of every officer of government in the reign of Charles ? — 7. 
What epithets were first used in this reign ? — 8. Who succeeded 
Charles ? — 9. Who was elected to the vacant throne on the deposition 
of James II.? — 10. To what period may the rudiments of the British 
constitution be traced ?— 1 1 . When was trial by jury first instituted ? — 
12. When was the Habeas Corpus act passed ? — 13. Who constitute 
the parliament of England ? — 14. Who is vested with the executive 
power ?— 15. How often used the parliament to be assembled ? — 16. 
From what is the revenue of England derived ? — 17. What is the first 
object to which the revenue can be applied ? 

SECTION XL 

FRANCE. SPAIN. CONSTITUTION OF PORTUGAL AND SPAIN. 
GERMANY. LEWIS XIV. CONSTITUTION OF FRANCE. 

1. France sunk into a state of weakness, anarchy, and dis- 
order? on the death of Henry IV. Mary Medici, regent 



J 
U MODERN HISTORY. 

during the minority of Lewis XIII., the successor of Henry- 
was a weak woman, and by her partiality for Italian cour- 
tiers, greatly disgusted the French nobility. Her party, and 
that of her son, were at perpetual variance, and filled the 
whole kingdom with confusion. 

2. The abilities of cardinal Richelieu, were the principal 
support of France during the reign of Lewis XIII. As soon 
as he came into power, he reconciled the mother and son ; 
soothed the contending factions, and when the minority of the 
king expired, directed all publick measures to the complete 
re-establishment of the monarchy. By the aid of the Dutch, 
he took Rochelle, which had set up for an independent state, 
and thus crushed for ever, Calvinism in France. 

3. Lewis XIII. was a weak prince, and of small abilities. 
He had, however, discernment enough to see his advantage 
of entering into all the plans of his able minister. Richelieu 
influenced the politicks of all Europe ; and his talents were 
equally displayed in active war, in negotiations with foreign 
states, and in domestick arrangements. The death of this 
minister, which happened in 1642, was soon followed by thai 
of Lewis, in 1643. 

4. Spain had declined in power, and become disordered 
in her finances, after the death of Philip II., notwithstanding 
its great sources of wealth, arising from the discovery of 
America. Philip III. was forced to conclude a peace with 
the Dutch, and restore to the house of Nassau, all its confis- 
cated estates. With a weak and despicable policy, he ex- 
pelled the Moors from his kingdom ; and this depopula- 
tion, together with the emigration to America, left Spain a 
lifeless and enervated kingdom. 

5. The duke of Braganza, who commanded the Spanish 
forces in Portugal, and who was descended from the ancient 
kings of the country, seeing the spirit of the nation favoura- 
ble to a revolt, caused himself to be proclaimed king at Lis- 
bon. From that period, 1640, Portugal became an inde- 
pendent sovereignty, after having worn the yoke of Spain for 
sixty years. 

6. The government of Portugal was nearly an absolute 
monarchy. The ordinary business of government was trans- 
acted by the king and his council of state. The revenue 
arose from the domains of the crown ; from duties on exports 
and imports ; from the taxes and from a stated proportion o\ 



MODERN HISTORY. 85 

the gold brought from Brazil. Agriculture was much neglect- 
ed, although the soil and climate are favourable. 

7. Spain, though formerly an elective, is now an absolute 
monarchy. The crown is hereditary, though at times chan- 
ges have been made in the limitation of succession by the 
reigning monarch. The king's council is the organ of go- 
vernment ; but no department of state has any power to regu- 
late the will of the king. 

8. A civil war of thirty years duration, between the ca- 
tholicks and protestants, nearly reduced the states of Ger- 
many to extremity. Under the emperor Ferdinand II., a 
zealous catholick, the protestant states of Bohemia confer- 
red their crown on the elector Palatine. In revenge, Ferdi- 
nand deprived him of his crown and electorate. 

9. Gustavus Adolphus, king of Sweden, revived the pro- 
testant cause in Germany, which was fast declining. He 
defeated the emperor's generals, and overran all the country ; 
completely humbled the emperor, and nearly restored the 
Palatine to his possessions. He was slain at the battle of 
Lutzen, 1632. His generals prosecuted the war with suc- 
cess, and France, under cardinal Richelieu, was not back- 
ward in giving her assistance. 

10. The peace of Westphalia, in 1648, laid the foundation 
of the future greatness and prosperity of the German empire. 
By this celebrated treaty, all disputes between the contending 
princes, and the contending religions, were adjusted ; the 
Swedes, besides being indemnified for the charges of the 
war, acquired several provinces; their sovereign became 
prince of the empire ; the Palatine was restored to his pos- 
sessions, and an equal establishment of religion was decreed. 

11. Lewis XIV. succeeded Lewis XIII. on the throne of 
France at the age of five years. Jealousy of cardinal Ma- 
zarin's power, the unpopularity of his measures, the disorder 
of the finances, and the oppression of the taxes, inflamed the 
nation during the minority of Lewis, and a civil war ensued. 
Paris was besieged by the rebels, and the royal family were 
obliged to remove to St. Germain. At length the parlia- 
ment of Paris assuming the responsibility of banishing Ma- 
zarin, peace was restored. Mazarin died in 1661. 

12. A great improvement was apparent in the condition of 
France, immediately upon the death of Mazarin. Lewis, no 
longer under the control of a violent and unprincipled man* 

8* 



36 MODERN HISTORY. 

entered upon a vigorous and splendid career. The finances 
were admirably regulated; commerce and manufactures were 
wisely encouraged; the principal sea ports were enlarged and 
fortified, and the internal police of the kingdom was enforced 
with vigour and regularity. 

13. The revocation of the edict of Nantz, granted by 
Henry IV., for the security of the protestants, is considered 
the weakest and most impoliticly act of Lewis' reign. The 
worship of the protestants was suppressed, and their ministers 
banished ; but the laity were forbidden, under the severest 
penalties, to leave the kingdom. France, however, by this 
unjustifiable act, lost above half a million of her most useful 
and industrious subjects, and the name of Lewis XIV. was 
execrated throughout Europe. 

14. The prince of Conde, and marshal Turenne, two oi 
the greatest generals France ever had, flourished in the reign 
of Lewis, and by their talents and valour, contributed much 
to the success and glory of his arms. The duke of Marlbo- 
rough, celebrated in English history, lived also at this period. 

15. Lewis XIV. was a prince of good talents, great vi- 
gour of mind, and of dignified and amiable manners. His 
mind was not improved by education, and his greatest fault, 
was an inordinate ambition, to gratify which, he often sacri- 
ficed the real interests of his people. Yet he discerned and 
recompensed every species of merit ; and in his time, France 
was equally illustrious for the talents of her generals, and the 
splendour of her literature. 

16. The ancient government of France was a limited mo- 
narchy. Under the Merovingian princes, the general assem- 
bly of the nation had the right of electing the sovereign, and 
the power of legislation. Under the Carlovingian race, the 
regal office sunk to a mere shadow, and the power of the state 
passed into the hands of a turbulent aristocracy. 

* 17. Under the third, or Capetian race, the crown acquired 
more weight, and the sovereigns began to restrain the nobles 
and to punish their outrages. As a balance to the weight of 
the aristocracy, a third estate was added to the national as- 
sembly ; but this body was used to ratify, rather than to de- 
cree. Previous to the reign of Lewis XIII., the states gen- 
eral rarely met, and after his reign it was discontinued. 

18i The parliament of Paris, came in the course of time 
to be paramount to those of the provinces, and by courtesy at 



MODERN HISTORY. 87 

first, acquiring the right of appeal, came at length to be the 
depository of the laws of the kingdom* By degrees, the 
sovereign consulted with its members on important questions, 
and the parliament came to share the powersof government 
with the monarch. But this power, as it was a usurpation^ 
became a constant subject of dispute. 

19. The catholick was the established religion of France. 
But though the supremacy of the pope was acknowledged, 
yet his ancient prerogatives within the kingdom were very 
much abridged. By a decree of the Gallican church, in 1682, 
no temporal sovereign could be deposed by the pope, or sub- 
jects absolved from their allegiance. The pope had no power 
to levy money in France, without consent of the king. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What became the state of Fiance on the death of Henry IV.? — 2. 
What were the principal support of France during the reign of Lewis 
XIII.?— 3. What was the character of Lewis XIII.?— 4. What became 
the state of Spain on the death of Philip II.? — 5. W r ho caused him 
self to be proclaimed king at Lisbon? — 6. What is the government of 
Portugal? — 7. What is the government of Spain? — 8. What nearly 
reduced the states of Germany to extremity ? — 9. Who revived the 
protestant cause in Germany ?— 10. What laid the foundation of the 
future greatness of the German empire? — : 11. Who succeeded Lewis 
XIII. in France ? — 12. What change took piace in France on the death 
of Mazarin ? — 13. What is considered the weakest and most impoli- 
tick act of Lewis XIV.?— 14. What distinguished French generals 
flourished in his reign ? — 15. What was the character of Lewis XIV.? 
— 16. What was the ancient government of France? — 17. Under whai 
race did the crown begin to have more weight ?— 18. What came in 
the course of time to be the depository of the laws of France: — 19 
What was the Established religion of France? 



SECTION XII. 

l?£TER THE GREAT. CHARLES XII. OF SWEDEN. PROGRESS 

OF SCIENCE. 

1. Peter the Great, of Russia, and Charles XII. of Swe- 
den, two illustrious men, adorned the age of Lewis XIV. 
The father of Peter was the first who gave a code of laws to 
Russia. Previous to his reign Russia was uncultivated, and 
its inhabitants barbarians. Near the end of the sixteenth 
century, Siberia was added to the empire, which had till that. 
€me been bounded by the limits of Europe. 



MODERN HISTORY. 

2. Ry setting aside a weak elder brother, and banishing a 
factious sister, Peter became master of the empire in 1689. 
He was uneducated, and his youth had been spent in debauch- 
ery ; but his new situation displayed his talents, and developed 
the wisest plans for the improvement of his barbarous subjects. 

3. The army and navy demanded his first attention. He 
began by breaking the militia of the Strelitzes, and by de- 
grees raised an army of twelve thousand men, formed on the 
strictest model of discipline. He employed some Dutchmen 
to build him a fleet, and as the first experiment of his arms, 
took Azof from the Turks, 1696. 

4. He now resolved to travel in search of knowledge. 
Appointing Le Fort, an able Genevese, his ambassador, he 
travelled in his suite through Germany to Holland, and stu- 
died the art of ship-building, by labouring personally in the 
dock-yard. From Holland he passed to England, and by 
personal application, acquired the knowledge of every art 
suited to the improvement of his kingdom. In sixteen months 
he returned to Moscow, to reduce his acquirements to practice. 

5. His system of reform was extended to almost every de- 
partment and usage of both publick and private life. The 
finances were arranged and systematized ; the church was 
reformed ; the patriarchate abolished, and the civil and crimi- 
nal jurisdiction taken from the clergy. The national dress 
was changed, and many ancient usages and habits of publick 
life suppressed. 

6. In 1695, Charles XII. came to the throne of Sweden ; 
and for a time disputed with Peter the sovereignty of the north. 
At the time of his accession, he was but fifteen years of age ; 
but the situation of Ins kingdom soon brought his genius into 
action. Russia, Poland, and Denmark, united in a league to 
seize and divide his dominions. The Danes seized Holstein, 
the Poles invaded Livonia, and the Russians occupied 
Ingria. 

7. Charles immediately landed an army at the gates of 
Copenhagen, and in six weeks time, forced the Danes to sue 
for peace. At the battle of Narva, he defeated an army of 
sixty thousand Russians, and took thirty thousand prisoners. 
This he accomplished in one campaign, though he was yet 
only seventeen years of age. He then marched into Poland, 
deposed Augustus the reigning king, and placed Stanislaus, 
one of his own dependants, on the throne. 



MODERN HISTORY. 89 

8. At the head of forty-five thousand men, he now entered 
Russia, telling the czar that he would treat of peace at Mos- 
cow. But deceived by the promise of aid from the Cossacks, 
he was led to march into the Ukraine, in the depth of winter, 
where the czar attacked his army, worn down by famine and fa- 
tigue, and defeated him at the battle of Pultowa, 1709. Nine 
thousand Swedes fell in the field, and fourteen thousand were 
taken prisoners. Augustus was restored to the throne of Po - 
land, and Peter took possession of Finland and Livonia. 

9. Charles retreated into the Turkish territories, and form- 
ed a camp at Bender. His army being reduced to eighteen 
hundred men, he endeavoured to persuade the grand seignior 
to arm against the Russians. In this, after a long negotia- 
tion, he succeeded, and two hundred thousand Turks took 
the field. The Russian army was surrounded, and obliged 
to capitulate. This destroyed all the hopes of Charles, and 
he returned to Sweden in disguise. 

10. Charles was killed by a cannon ball, on the eleventh 
of December, 1718. He had formed the plan of dethron- 
ing George II., of England, and of placing James on the 
throne. In this scheme he was joined by Peter of Russia, 
and Philip V. of Spain. But the death of Charles put an end 
to the design. By the death of her king, Sweden gained a 
reformation in her government, and a salutary limitation of 
the powers of the sovereign. 

11. January 28, 1725, Peter the Great died. He was 
succeeded by the czarina Catharine, formerly a Livonian 
captive, who was every way worthy of her station. The only 
son of Peter, having been guilty of treason, was executed ; 
but the manner of his death is unknown. Russia owes to 
Peter all those institutions which, within a century, have rai- 
sed her from obscurity, to the highest rank among the powers 
of Europe. 

12. From the close of the fifteenth century, science made 
rapid progress in most of the states of Europe. Classical 
learning, criticism, poetry, and history, were much cultivated 
and with success. Philosophy did not keep pace with litera^ 
ture. Aristotlean dogmas kept possession of the schools, 
and even the doctrines of theology were subject to them. A 
superiour genius was necessary to banish the clouds of erromv 
and to take even one step forward in useful science. 

,13, hotd Bacon, the most profound philosopher as well 



90 MODERN HISTORY. 

as the most universal genius that any age has ever produced, 
arose at this period. He exploded the system of Aristotle, 
but attempted to revive that of Epicurus. Yet, to Bacon 
we owe the sure method of advancing in knowledge, by means 
of experiment and demonstration, instead of theory and con- 
jecture. 

14. Galileo, in 1609, constructed telescopes. He disco- 
vered the satelites of saturn and Jupiter, and their motions, 
and was rewarded with imprisonment. Kepler investigated 
the laws of motion, and the analogy between the distances of 
the planets from the sun, and their periodical revolutions. 
Napier, 1614, invented logarithms. Harvey, in 1616, disco- 
vered the circulation of the blood. 

15. Sir Isaac Newton arose near the end of the seven- 
teenth century. Before he was twenty-four years of age, he 
had discovered the principle of universal gravitation ; a prin- 
ciple which solves the chief phenomena of nature. His 
theory of light and colours, is the foundation of the whole 
science of opticks. 

16. Locke, who was cotemporary with Newton, applied 
Lord Bacon's method of investigation to the human mind, 
and to the operations of the soul. From the fact, that an in- 
fant gains its knowledge gradually, and that all knowledge is 
acquired progressively, he concluded that there are no innate 
ideas in the mind ; but that all are immediate perceptions, or 
acts of the mind reflecting on those perceptions. This con- 
clusion has never been shaken. 

17. Milton in England, Tasso in Italy, and Camoens in 
Portugal, were the most distinguished epick poets of this pe- 
riod. The " Paradise Lost," of Milton, is considered the 
greatest epick poem in the English language. When com- 
pared with the Iliad of Homer, or the iEneid of Virgil, it is 
more irregular as a whole, but many of its detached parts 
have greater sublimity than either of those works. 

18. Dryden, in the end of the seventeenth century, carried 
lyrick poetry to perfection. His ode on St. Cecilia's day 
exceeds all ancient or modern compositions of the lyrick 
kind. Shakspeare, the most celebrated dramatick poet of 
any age, lived in the sixteenth century ; and though he was 
ignorant of dramatick writing, yet he far exceeds modern 
writers in touching the passions, and in giving just views of 
3the human character. 



MODERN HISTORY, 91 

QUESTIONS. 

2. What two illustrious men adorned the age of Lewis XIV.? — 2. In 
what manner did Peter become master of the Russian empire in 1689 ? 
— 3. What demanded his first attention in the improvement of his em- 
pire ? — 4. What did he now resolve to do ? — 5. How far did his system 
of reform extend? — 6. When did Charles XII. come to the throne oi 
Sweden ? — 7. What method did he take to force the Danes to sue for 
peace ? — 8. How many men did he lead into Russia ? — 9. What did 
he do after the battle of Pultowa? — 10. How and when was Charles 
killed? — 11. When did Peter the Great die?— 12. From what period 
did science begin to make rapid progress in Europe ? — 13. What dis 
tinguished genius and philosopher arose at this time ? — 14. Who, I609 r 
constructed telescopes? — 15. What distinguished man arose near the 
end of the seventeenth century ?— 16. Who was cotemporary with New- 
ton? — 17. Who were the most distinguished epick poets of this peri- 
od? — 18. Who in the end of the seventeenth century carried lyrick 
poetry to perfection ? 

SECTION XIII. 

FRANCE. ENGLAND. AUSTRIA AND GERMANY, 

1. Severe domestick misfortunes clouded the last years oi" 
the long and splendid reign of Lewis XIV. of France, and 
a great change took place in the sentiments and manners of 
the sovereign and his court. A mystical religion became the 
vogue, which was greatly countenanced and supported by 
the amiable Fenelon, the most distinguished ecclesiastick of 
that age. 

2. Lewis XV., a child of five years of age, succeeded to 
the throne on the death of his grandfather, Lewis XIV. Great 
losses had, in a very short time, occurred in the royal family. 
Three heirs to the crown, the dauphin, his son, and his grand- 
son, had died in the space of eleven months. Strong suspi- 
cions existed, that the duke of Orleans had been in some way 
the author of these losses, but they are now considered as 
unfounded. 

3. France being incumbered with debt, and surrounded 
by jealous and exasperated neighbours, rendered it necessa- 
ry, as well as a matter of policy, for the nation to remain at 
peace. For this purpose the duke of Orleans, who had been 
chosen regent during the minority of Lewis, endeavoured to 
form alliances with the courts of London and Vienna. 

4. The celebrated Mberoni, a man ol extraordinary gen- 
\m and talent, and who had raised himself from a situation thr 



92 MODERN HISTORY. 

most obscure, was now the prime minister of Spain. He 
seemed to be bent upon disturbing both the French and Eng- 
lish governments, in order to recover what had been taken 
from Spain at the the treaty of Utrecht, and to deprive the 
duke of Orleans of his regency. These obstacles seemed 
to forbid the idea that Europe would long remain in repose. 

5. In 1733, France was again involved in a war, on 
account of the settlement of the crown of Poland, which 
was claimed by two competitors ; the son of the deceased 
king, and Stanislaus the former king, whom Charles of Swe- 
den had placed on the throne. The principal seat of the 
war was Italy, but Stanislaus did not recover his throne. In 
lieu thereof, he received the dutchies of Lorrain and Bar, 
retaining his kingly title. These dutchies were, however, to 
revert to France on his death, which took place 1766. 

6. George Lewis, elector of Brunswick Luneburg, succee- 
ded queen Anne on the throne of England. She had succee- 
ded William and Mary, and parliament had fixed the succes- 
sion in the house of Hanover. Every catholick branch of 
the royal family of England was excluded from the throne,, 
and the protestant succession secured. 

7. In September, 1714, George I. made his .entrance into 
his new dominions, and was greeted with such demonstra- 
tions of joy as must have been extremely gratifying to his 
feelings. Many disappointed hopes, however, and secret 
heart-burnings, prevented that cordial unanimity which such 
an occasion rendered desirable. The tories were discomfi- 
ted, and the friends of the pretender stood confounded. In 
this perplexity of feeling, many refused to take the oaths of 
supremacy and abjuration. 

8. In August, 1715, a rebellion broke out in Scotland, 
headed by the earl of Mar, and in September, the standard of 
the pretender was erected at a place called Brcz JSIar. In 
December following, the prince himself landed in Scotland, 
and was received with regal honours. But the heads of the 
rebellion, convinced of their inability to effect a revolution, 
felt compelled to abandon the enterprise, and the pretender 
returned to Fiance. 

9. The septennial bill, about this time, passed the parlia- 
ment, after much opposition. By this, the continuance of 
parliament was extended from three to seven years, unless 
sooner dissolved by the king. This bill was passed chiefly 



MODERN HISTORY. 93 

on account of the ill effects of too frequent elections, in 
keeping up party divisions, interrupting business, and lessen- 
ing the confidence of foreign states in the measures of 
government. 

10. The celebrated quadruple alliance was formed in 1718, 
and George I. became a party to it. This alliance was form- 
ed for the purpose of defeating the projects of Alberoni. 
This celebrated man, who managed to involve almost the whole 
of Europe in contests and jealousies, had nearly excited 
Charles XII. of Sweden to invade England, for the purpose 
of placing the pretender on the throne. But this alliance 
embarrassed the plan, and the death of Charles soon after, 
totally defeated it. 

11. The South Sea scheme, disastrous in its consequen- 
ces, and strange and extravagant in its origin and progress, 
occurred in this reign. By this, some made vast fortunes 
in a short time, but many also were ruined, and publick cre- 
dit was severely shaken. Such an instance of general infatua- 
tion and credulity, is seldom met with in history ; and is only 
to be matched by the Mississippi scheme, which was projec- 
ted in France a few years before, and produced the same re- 
sults and disasters. 

12. June 11, 1727, died George I., at Osnaburgh, on his 
way to visit his electoral dominions. He had the reputation 
of being a brave and a generous prince. Under his reign, 
England improved in wealth and credit, and enjoyed a great- 
er degree of tranquility at home, and peace abroad, than at 
any period since the reign of queen Elizabeth. He died in 
the sixty-eighth year of his age. 

13. In the year 1711, Charles VI. became emperor of 
Germany, on the demise of his brother, Joseph I. In 1714, 
he concluded the treaty of Rastadt, by which he obtained 
possession of the Spanish Netherlands ; but they would have 
been wrested from him three years after, had not the English 
sent a fleet, under admiral Byng, into the Mediterranean, by 
which means matters were brought to a favourable issue. 

14. A war with the Turks engaged the attention of the 
emperor in 1716. Prince Eugene, so famous in history as 
a military leader, commanded the Austrians in this war. By 
his valour and skill, the war was soon successfully termina- 
ted. These successes of Austria, soon checked the opera- 
lions of Spain, and disposed her to become a party to the 

9 



94 MODERN HISTORY. 

quadruple alliance. Spain and Austria, however, were no< 
fully reconciled till 1725, when the emperor relinquished his 
pretensions to Spain and the Indies. 

15. The pragmatick sanction was formed by Charles VI. 
This was a law of the empire, guaranteed by most of the 
kings of Europe. By this law, it was provided, that if Charles 
at his death should have either sons or daughters, the domin- 
ions and crowns of Austria should remain united. In failure 
of such issue, the daughters of Joseph, his deceased brother, 
were to succeed ; if tliey died without heirs, his sisters and 
their descendants were to inherit. England, Holland, and 
France, were prevailed upon by negotiations and conces- 
sions to give their guarantee. 

16. In 1740, Charles died. He was the last heir of the 
Austrian line ; and notwithstanding the great care he had ta- 
ken to secure the succession and to prevent disputes, he was 
no sooner dead, than numerous claims were set up, war was 
enkindled, and all Europe involved in its calamities. Maria 
Theresa, consort of Francis, duke of Tuscany, succeeded on 
the death of her father, to the throne of the empire. 

17. At the time of the emperor's death, the finances were 
embarrassed ; the army was in a bad condition, and a great 
famine prevailed in the country. These circumstances were 
calculated to encourage claimants for portions of the estates, 
nor were they tardy in advancing their pretentions. Many 
of these, who now advanced their claims, had formerly given 
their sanction to the pragmatick decree, and even pledged 
themselves by solemn treaty, to cause it to be observed ; but 
they now felt no scruples in promoting their several views. 

18. Frederick II., of Prussia, was the most active of the dif- 
ferent claimants, and till that time was but little known in Eu- 
rope. He had succeeded by means of the prudence of his father 
to an army and a treasury of no small importance, and both 
of these he had found time to improve. At first, he desired 
to occupy Silesia, only as a friend to the queen, and promis- 
ed, if his demands were granted, to protect Austria against 
other enemies, and assist Theresa in placing her husband on 
the imperial throne. But he soon threw off the mask, and 
made it apparent, that, at all hazards, he intended to become 
master of Lower Silesia. 

19. The bravery of the Hungarians, saved the queen from 
destruction. By taking the ancient oath of Andrew II., and 



MODERN HISTORY. 95 

by throwing herself, with her infant son, entirely upon their 
protection, she firmly attached these brave men to her inte- 
rests. Supported by their valour, and aided by the money of 
the English and Dutch, she disappointed all her enemies, and 
scattered the storm which so fearfully threatened her. She 
also derived some assistance from the king of Sardinia. 

20. Francis, grand duke of Tuscany, and the husband of 
Maria Theresa, received the imperial crown in 1745. To 
effect this, the queen agreed to admit the young elector of 
Bavaria to the full possession of his hereditary dominions ; 
and in a treaty concluded at Dresden, she yielded to Freder- 
ick, her grand adversary, Silesia and the county of Glatz, the 
chief objects for which he had been contending. 

21. A general peace took place, October 7, 1748, by the 
conclusion of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. This treaty was 
made one hundred years after the famous treaty of Westpha- 
lia, which served as the basis of the present convention. At 
this treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, a general restitution of con- 
quests took place, so that the contending nations gained no- 
thing by a long war, but the miserable satisfaction of having 
gratified their passions, and that too, at a vast expense of 
blood and treasure. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What clouded the last years of Lewis XIV. of France? — 2. Who 
succeeded him?— 3. What rendered it necessary for France, at this 
period, to remain at peace with other nations ? — 4. Who, at this time, 
was prime minister of Spain ?— 5. When was France again involved 
in war ? — 6. Who succeeded queen Anne on the throne of England ? 
7. When did George I. enter upon his new dominions ? — 8. When did 
a rebellion break out in Scotland ? — 9. What bill about this time pass- 
ed the parliament of England? — 10. What alliance was formed in 
1718 ? — 11. What disastrous and extravagant scheme occurred in this 
reign ? — 12. When did George I. die ? — 13. When did Charles VI. be- 
come emperor of Germany ? — 14. What engaged the attention of the 
emperor in 1716?— 15. What was formed by Charles VI,?— 16. When 
did he die ?— 17. What was the state of the empire at his death? —18. 
Who was the most active of the different claimants of the imperial 
estates? — 19. What saved the queen from destruction ? — 20. Who re- 
ceived the imperial crown in 1745 ?■— 21. What took place October 7, 
1748. 



N MODERN HISTORY. 

SECTION XIV. 

ENGLAND. STATE OF EUROPE. SEVEN YEARS* WAR* 

1. George II. came to the throne in the year 1727, in 
time of profound peace. His accession was not attende< 
with so many changes as had been expected. Even Sir Ro- 
bert Walpole, was retained in his office of prime minister, 
although he belonged to the party in opposition to the king. 
This course of policy, we now know, is to be attributed to 
the advice of the queen, who possessed an influence over the 
king, at that time little suspected, but which was justified by 
her good sense and prudent conduct. 

2. The dissatisfaction arising from the manner of con- 
ducting the war with Spain, caused Walpole to resign. That 
power had for a series of years, made great depredations upon 
the trade of England with America and the West Indies ; and 
beside many deeds of insult and plunder, had been guilty 
o^ various acts of atrocious cruelty. With these, England 
had borne patiently, and as many, particularly the sufferers, 
thought with apathy, and such were clamorous for a vigorous 
war of reprisal. 

3. Walpole was an able, intelligent, and prudent minister. 
He was a lover of peace, in the way of defence and preven- 
tion, and it was upon this that he prided himself. Being of 
the ivhig party, he was exposed to the rancour of his political 
opponents. By these he was alledged to have brought cor- 
ruption into a system ; while by his own party, he was justi- 
fied from this charge. He governed, probably, by party at- 
tachments, and not by bribery. 

4. In regard to the excise bill, and the sinking fund, the 
views of Walpole were frustrated by those who lived to see 
and retract their errour. The former was calculated, in an 
eminent degree, to prevent frauds upon the revenue, and to 
lighten the publick burdens. But such was the clamour rai- 
sed against it, by faction and ignorance, that it was for that 
time abandoned. Mr. Pitt was one who opposed it, though 
he afterward confessed and corrected his errour. 

5. A rebellion broke out in Scotland, in 1745, the very 
year that Sir Robert Walpole died. The object of this re- 
bellion was, to set Charles Edward, the heir of the Stuart 
family, on the throne of England, and though, on account of 
the state of the country and of Europe, the enterprise was ro- 



MODERN HISTORY* 97 

mantick, yet it was by no means weak or contemptible. In 
its progress, it became so alarming, as to threaten London 
and the protestant succession, and it was not subdued except 
by great exertions. 

6. At a place called Preston Pans, a severe action took 
place between the rebels and the army of the king. The for- 
mer were victorious, and the army of the pretender was able 
to march far into England, and afterward to retreat in the face 
of a powerful army. 

7. The battle of Culloden, which was fought April 16, 
1746, put an end to the rebellion. The hopes and spirits of 
Charles were so sunk by the issue of this engagement, that 
he never rejoined his friends ; but after wandering about for 
some time, in constant danger of being taken, he escaped 
into France. Thirty thousand pounds had been offered by 
government for his head, yet his friends concealed him with 
an attachment and fidelity, which is surpassed by nothing in 
history, and which reflects the greatest honour upon their 
high and disinterested feelings. 

8. An act for correcting the calendar was passed in 1751. 
By this, it was enacted that the year should begin on the first 
of January, and that eleven days, between the second and 
fourteenth of September, 1752, should be omitted for that 
time ; so that the day following the second should be called 
the fourteenth. This change was very important ; and gave 
rise to the terms Old Style and New Style. It has, howev- 
er, in some instances, created a little obscurity, and some 
apparent discrepances in writings of that period ; as some 
dates are written in this manner, for instance, 1765 — 6, it is 
difficult to determine which year is meant, 1765 or 1766. 

9. In the year 1760, died George II., aged 77, having 
reigned thirty-four years. He was a prince of great integ- 
rity and honour, as well as veracity ; but he possessed a warm 
and irritable temper; was of a warlike disposition, and strongly 
inclined to take a very active part in the disputes of the con- 
tinent. He was greatly under the influence of his queen, 
who was eminent for her many virtues, and justly beloved 
and revered by the nation. 

10. By the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the house of Hano- 
ver was effectually established on the throne of England, and 
the house of Stuart for ever excluded. By this peace, Eng- 
land was left in possession of a maritime force far superiour to 

9* 



98 MODERN HISTORY. 

that of all the other countries of Europe. This naval supe 
riority amounted almost to a monopoly of commerce, credit, 
and wealth, and rendered her the principal in nearly all suc- 
ceeding political movements. 

11. Silesia, Parma, Placentia, and some other places, 
were lost to Austria by the peace of 1748. All she gained 
by the war was the article in regard to the succession. All 
former treaties were recognised, and the succession was fixed 
according to the pragmatick sanction. Maria Theresa was, 
to the last, indignant on account of the losses she sustained ; 
but these were the means of forming a more compact and 
stable empire. 

12. Silesia and the county of Glatz, were gained by Prus- 
sia at the peace. These were guaranteed to her by all the 
contracting powers, and by this accession of territory, she 
was raised so as to be the rival of Austria. The character 
and achievements of Frederick II. contributed not a little to 
the aggrandizement of his kingdom. He was active and 
bold ; brave in the field, and wise in the cabinet. Yet he 
often appeared as a merciless tyrant, deficient in economy, 
and at least very lax in his religious sentiments. 

13. Holland lost much by the peace, and gained nothing, 
The stadtholdership was made hereditary in the family of the 
prince of Orange, and in this, the female heirs were included 
as well as the male. The female heirs, however, were pre- 
cluded from marrying any king or elector of the empire ; and 
the subsequent history of Europe, shows this to have been a 
wise measure. 

14. Spain obtained Parma, Naples, and some other pla- 
ces by the peace. But her power was not much increased 
either by sea or land. Upon the former, England had indeed 
obtained a vast superiority, and though the armies of Spain 
were brave, yet they were badly conducted, and her govern- 
ment was such as rendered her disreputable in the eyes of 
Europe. 

15. Russia had now become a formidable power. Pos- 
sessed of vast territories, and immense natural resources, she 
needed only a head to guide them into the proper channel, in 
order to rise to power and consequence. Such a head she 
found in Peter the Great, and under his management, she 
soon came to be regarded as the most considerable power on 
Uie continents 



MODERN HISTORY- 09 

16. France gained Lorrain by the treaty of 1748. This 
was indeed but little in point of extent, but its relative situa- 
tion and actual condition, gave it immense importance. By 
the possession of Lorrain and Alsace, she was enabled to 
strengthen and complete the whole of her eastern frontier, 
and take a commanding attitude in regard to Germany. 

17. Four classes may be made of the kingdoms of Europe 
at the time of the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. England and 
France, were of the first class ; Austria, Russia and Prussia, of 
the second; Portugal, Sardinia, Sweden and Denmark, of the 
third ; and the fourth comprehended Switzerland, Genoa, Ve- 
nice, and the German states. 

18. The maritime strength of England, in a short time 
after the peace of 1748, became an object of jealousy to 
France. The navy of that power, under the administration 
of cardinal Fleury, had been suffered to fall into decay. This 
they now began to increase, and at the same time form pro- 
jects for dispossessing Britain of her principal settlements in 
the east and the west. 

19. The effects of the peace of 1748,upon Asia and Amer- 
ica were very inconsiderable. The conquests on each side 
it is true, had been restored, but the boundaries and limits of 
territories had been fixed, if fixed at all, in the most negligent 
and indefinite manner. The French and Spaniards had each 
very able and enterprising servants, who were willing to im- 
prove, what they considered a favourable opportunity for ag- 
grandizing themselves and their country at the expense of 
Britain. 

20. By interfering in the appointment of the governours 
of kingdoms and provinces, the French attempted to reduce 
the peninsula of India, and indeed the whole Mogul empire, 
under their dominion. This conduct ultimately brought the 
French and English in contact, not as principals in war, but 
as auxiliaries to the different and contending princes, or na- 
bobs. In no long course of time, the French had all their 
possessions wrested from them in the east, and they were 
completely baffled in all their projects. 

21. The connecting of their northen with their southern 
possessions in America, by a chain of forts, extending from 
the great lakes down the Ohio and Mississippi, had early and 
long been a favourite project with the French. This accom- 
plished, the English would be confined to the sea board, anti 



100 MODERN HISTORY. 

the trade with the natives beyond the Mississippi and around 
the lakes would be intercepted. At the same time, in case 
of war between the two nations, allies would be secured, of 
whose assistance they never had hesitated to avail themselves, 

22. War was declared in 1755, although the colonies of 
both nations had for some time been in a state of actual hos* 
tility. The colonies of Britain were greatly divided in their 
views — had many disagreements among themselves, and for 
a time they seemed to be unable to act in concert. The 
French had no such disagreements, but were united both in 
the object and the means for attaining it. 

23. Three hundred French ships, and eight thousand sai- 
lors, were taken the first year of the war by the English. En- 
surance in France rose thirty per cent., while in England it con- 
tinued as usual. But on the land, the French were more suc- 
cessful. The British armies were often commanded by inade- 
quate officers, and the dissensions of the colonies, frequent- 
ly caused a campaign to come to a disastrous conclusion. 

24. To transfer the war from the colonies to Europe, was 
found expedient by both parties. France solicited from the 
king of Prussia, permission to pass through his kingdom for 
the purpose of attacking the electorate of Hanover. He, 
however, thought proper to refuse, and thus George II. was 
relieved from any anxiety respecting his continental posses- 
sions. 

25. Frederick the Great, was king of Prussia at this time, 
and it was in this war that he acquired that glory, which has 
rendered his reign conspicuous. Having reason to suppose 
that an overwhelming confederacy of crowned heads was 
formed for his ruin, he lost no time in making preparations 
for defence. Though attacked on all sides, and forced to 
fly from one field of battle to another, he did not fail to hum- 
ble every power that attacked him, and in some instances, 
he inflicted exemplary punishment. 

26. Two hundred thousand men, are supposed to have an- 
nually fallen in these contests. Frederick had to contend 
with the armies of Austria, Russia, Sweden, France, and Sax- 
ony ; and though his situation often appeared desperate, yet 
by some new effort of his superiour genius, he extricated him- 
self, and routed his foes. AH this time he was under the ban ot 
the empire, by which every circle in Germany was bound to 

»sgist in dethroning him. 



MODERN HISTORY. 101 

27. In 1762, England declared war against Spain. The 
latter seeing the great success of the English in Asia, Africa, 
and America, began to fear for her own possessions in the 
new world, and as a measure of security, entered into a. family 
compact with France. By this compact, each guaranteed the 
dominions of the other ; and an article was inserted, which 
proved so disagreeable to England as to lead to the com- 
mencement of hostilities. 

28. The conquest of Canada was one of the most impor- 
tant achievements of the English during this war. From near- 
ly the first settlement of the English in America, the French 
of Canada had viewed them with a jealous eye, and spared no 
labour, intrigue, or expense, in creating them difficulty. Most 
of the wars with the aborigines, were undoubtedly the result 
of French instigation ; and often did they accompany the In- 
dians in their barbarous incursions. Great was the rejoicing 
of the English colonies, when Canada was conquered. 

29. A change of the ministry in England, prepared the 
way for the conclusion of a war, of which all parties began to 
be weary. Mr. Pitt, under whose able and firm administra- 
tion England had been conducted through the long contest 
honourably and successfully, on the death of George II. , re- 
signed his post, and was succeeded by lord Bute. This 
minister owed his elevation, more to the attachment and good 
will of the king, than to the voice or the favour of the people. 
Peace was proclaimed in 1763. 

30. England undoubtedly gained more by this long war 
than any of the other contending powers. Her navy was 
left unimpaired ; her commerce extended from %ne extremity 
of the globe to the other, and in almost every quarter of the 
world she obtained important accessions of territory. Aus- 
tria and Prussia closed the contest without gain or loss ; re- 
storing matters to the same state they were in, 1748, after 
seven severe and expensive campaigns. 

QUESTIONS* 

1. Who came to the throne of England in 1727 ?— 2. What caused 
Walpole to resign? — 3. What is said of him ? — 4. In regard to what 
two measures were the views of Walpole defeated by those who after- 
ward saw and retracted their errour ?— 5. What occurred in 1745?— 
6. Where did a severe action take place between the rebels and the 
king's forces ? — 7. What battle put an end to the rebellion ? — 8, What 
act was passed 1751 ?— -9. When did George II. die ? — 10. By what, 
treaty was the house of Hanover secured on the throne of England ? — 



102 MODERN HISTORY. 

11. What did Austria lose by the peace of 1748?— 12. What did Pwis- 
s ia gain ? — 13. What effect did the peace have on Holland ? — 14. What 
Uid Spain obtain by the peace? — 15 What power had now become 
formidable ?—16. What did France gain by the peace of 1748? — 17. 
Into how many classes might the kingdoms of Europe have been di- 
vided at the peace ? — 18. What in a short time became an object of 
jealousy to France ? — 19. What were the effects of the peace upon 
Asia and America? — 20. In what manner did the French attempt to 
reduce the peninsula of India and the Mogul empire? — 21. What had 
long been a favourite project of the French ? — 22. When was war de- 
clared? — 23. How many ships and sailors c^dthc French lose during 
the first year of the war? — 24. What did botn parties find expedient? 
—25. Who was king of Prussia at this time ? — 26. How many men are 
supposed to have fallen annually in these contests ? — 27. When did 
England declare war against Spain? — 28. What was one of the most 
important achievements of England during the war ?~29. What prepar- 
ed the way for the conclusion of the war ? — 30. What power gained 
the most by the war ? 



\ 



SECTION XV. 

1CCESSION OF GEORGE III. DISPUTE WITH AMERICA, 
FRANCE. OPENING OF THE STATES GENERAL. 

1. October 25, 1760, George III. ascended the throne of 
England on the death of his grandfather. The king, in his 
first speech to parliament, expressed the glory he felt, in be- 
ing born and educated in Britain. In addition to this claim 
to the affection of his subjects, every thing, so far as related 
to the character, manners and disposition of the king, seemed 
to give hopes of a quiet and peaceable reign. 

2. To render the judges independent of the crown, was 
one of the first acts of his reign, and it was calculated to im- 
press the idea of his being a true friend to the liberty of the 
subject. The king, soon after his accession, was married 
to Charlotte of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, and with her was 
crowned at Westminster, September 22, 1761. 

3. The right of issuing general warrants, and of seizing 
private papers, had always been exercised by the crown. 
Mr. Wilkes, member of parliament for Aylesbury, disputed 
this right, maintaining its illegality, and in 1765, parliament 
by a solemn decree, sustained his position. Being elected 
for Middlesex, after having been expelled the house, he 
claimed his seat, and after a contest of five years, he was ad- 
mitted. But the parliament maintained its right of declaring an 
individual disqualified, even against a majority of the electors. 



MODERN HISTORY. 103 

4. The administration of lord Bute was extremely unpop- 
ular, and gave rise to distressing riots and tumults, which 
contributed greatly to disquiet the first years of the reign of 
George III., and involve him in many difficulties. Petitions 
and remonstrances flowed from all quarters ; and much pains 
was taken to increase the popular ferment, and heighten the 
dissatisfaction with the administration. All that the adminis- 
tration did, seemed to be the result of intrigue, private influ- 
ence, and cabal. 

5. The letters of Junius, an anonymous publication, ap- 
pearing about this time, greatly added to the popular agitation. 
The writer of these letters, who has never yet been discover- 
ed, appeared to possess so intimate a knowledge of the pro* 
ceedings of the court and the cabinet, and expressed himself 
in so vigorous, pure and satirical a style, as to confound those 
whom he attacked, and arrest the attention of all parties. 

6. Whether in cases of libel, the jury were judges of law 
as well as of fact, was an important constitutional question, 
which arose for consideration about this time. Lord Mans- 
field adjudged that the jury were only to decide on the fact ol 
publication, and leave the law of libel to the court ; but ju- 
ries generally have disputed this, and have evaded the diffi- 
culty, by either referring the law to the judge, by giving a spe- 
cial verdict, or of general acquittal. 

7. The commencement of the dispute with America, dis« 
tinguished the year 1764. As the mother country had, during 
the seven years' war, expended vast sums in defending her 
colonies from the encroachments of France, the question 
arose, whether they ought not to be called upon by direct tax- 
ation, to contribute to the relief of their defenders, and it was 
decided in the affirmative. 

8. George Grenville was then prime minister of England* 
and through his influence and suggestion, the Stamp- Act was 
passed, by which the colonies were directly subjected to a 
tax without their own consent. This act made it necessary 
for all deeds, conveyances, letters of attorney, processes of 
law, notes of hand, &c. to be executed upon paper, bearing 
the arms of England stamped upon it, and which was fur- 
nished by government at an exorbitant price. 

9. A little more than a year the stamp-act was continued 
in force, and then repealed. The Grenville administration 
had previously been dismissed, and the marquis of Rocking- 



104 MODERN HISTORY. 

ham placed at the head of the new one. But at the same 
time that parliament repealed the obnoxious act, another was 
passed declaratory of the right of taxation. Although there 
was no intention of acting upon this declaration, yet it served 
to keep alive the jealousy and the fears of America ; and in 
many of the colonies, the provincial assemblies voted that 
the right of taxation rested solely in the king, or his represen- 
tative, and the general assembly of the colony. 

10. Ten years after the passing of the stamp-act, hostili- 
ties commenced. The first blood was shed at Lexington ; and 
from that time the prospect of reconciliation grew every day 
less, and the Americans continually gained strength for the 
contest. The campaign of 1776, closed auspiciously for 
them, and reflected no small credit upon their commander in 
chief. In a short time, however, the war became more com- 
plicated, involving the continent of Europe, and leading to 
greater changes and convulsions than the world ever before 
experienced. 

11. France, at the solicitation of the Americans, granted 
ihem aid, both in men and money ; and after acknowledging 
their independence, entered into a treaty of alliance with them. 
It was indeed a singular circumstance, that the Americans 
should apply for assistance to a power noted for its refined 
despotism ; and to a court signal for its gaiety, dissipation, 
and corruption. 

12. The defence of Gibraltar, under Gen. Elliot, was one 
of the most brilliant and glorious achievements of the Eng- 
lish, during the war. The French and the Spaniards made 
greater preparations for the siege of that fortress, than any 
occasion had ever before called forth ; and as no doubt was 
entertained of their success, many of the French princes re- 
paired to the place to witness its surrender. The siege last- 
ed three years, but was finally abandoned, October, 1782, 
with the loss of all the Spanish floating batteries, and the de- 
feat of the combined fleets of France and Spain. 

13. September 3, 1783, peace was ratified between the 
contending powers. As the basis of the treaty, the thirteen 
United States were acknowledged by Britain, to be " Free, 
Sovereign, and Independent States." Toward the close 
of the war, it was found that a very serious division existed 
in the British parliament respecting American independence. 
Tliis difference was rendered memorable, by its being the 



MODERN HISTORt. 105 

subject of the last speech and appearance in parliament of 
lord Chatham. He died a few days after at his seat in Kent. 

14. The Jesuits and Jansenists in France, entered into a 
contest in the reign of Lewis XI Y., respecting certain ob- 
scure points in theology, which, after much abuse and railing 
on both sides, and much unavailing argument, was referred 
to the pope for decision. By him, the Jansenists were con- 
demned in the celebrated bull called " Unigenitus." But 
this decision, instead of restoring peace, became the signal 
for fresh animosities, complaints, and murmurs. The king 5 
however, ordered it to be received, and soon after died* 

15. The most perfect despotism had hitherto marked the 
course of the kings of France, in all disputes between them 
and their parliaments. Whatever remonstrances the latter 
made, they were not allowed to have the least effect against 
the determination of the court. If these judicial bodies be- 
came refractory, they were banished, and no regard was paid 
to the complaints they might make, or resistance they might 
offer. 

16. The Jesuits undoubtedly laid the foundation of the 
revolution in France. Their disputes with the Jansenists 
displayed such superstition, bigotry, and contempt of publick 
order, as to astonish every reflecting mind ; and in the dis- 
putes of the parliament of Paris, these Jesuits taking part 
with the king, while his private life was profligate and aban- 
doned, and the whole course of his government, one system 
of publick plunder, venality, and favouritism, gaye great 
occasion to their enemies to insist upon the necessity of re- 
form. 

17. In the year 1759, the Jesuits were expelled from Por- 
tugal, on an accusation of making an attempt upon the king's 
life. After the attempt upon the king of France, Lewis XV.^ 
in 1757, by one Damiens, a Jesuit, their enemies had charg- 
ed them with regicide principles ; this event, therefore, in 
Portugal, seemed to prove the charge, and to brand them 
in the eyes of the publick as the friends of arbitrary power, 
and the enemies of liberty. 

18. The disclosure of the articles of their institution, or 
their book of constitutions, imprudently made in a court of 
justice, greatly contributed to hasten their downfall. This 
book, which for more than two hundred, years, had been kept 
perfectly and mysteriously secret from the world, was found 

10 



106 MODERN HISTORY. 

to contain principles, hostile both to civil government and 
sound morality. The king hesitated about proceeding against 
them, being as much afraid of the Jansenists as of the Jesu- 
its ; but at length, August 6, 1762, he ordered all their pos- 
sessions to be secularized and sold. 

19. In November, 1767, France, Spain, Portugal, Na- 
ples and Sicily, abolished the order of Jesuits, and they were 
expelled from Mexico, Pern, and Paraguay. The power of 
this order had become enormous, and their wealth immense ; 
and both their power and wealth were profusely used to ad- 
vance the interests and promote the plans of the society. In 
many instances, they had been a real benefit to mankind, es- 
pecially in educating youth, and promoting the interests of 
science. But in the general odium they had incurred, all their 
services were forgotten, and no exertions or submissions 
could save them from ruin. 

20. The defects of the French jurisprudence, next drew 
the attention of the nation. Some very extraordinary pro- 
cesses of law, especially in the case of a family at Thou- 
louse, of Labarre, at Abbeville, and of Lally, commander in 
India, in the course of which, shocking instances of depravi- 
ty occurred, had the effect of exciting attention to the subject. 

21. The archduchess, JS/Iarie Antoinette, daughter of the 
empress dowager, was married in 1770, to the dauphin, after- 
ward Louis XVI. The marriage was celebrated with extra- 
ordinary festivity, and took place at a time when the differen- 
ces between the king and his parliaments had arisen to the 
greatest height. The parliament of Paris, as well as several 
provincial ones was suppressed, and as many as seven hun- 
dred magistrates were exiled or confined. 

22. In 1774 died Lewis XV., in the 65th year of his age, 
having reigned fifty-eight. The latter part of his life was 
very disgraceful in a private point of view, and very feeble in 
a publick one. He was succeeded by his grandson, Louis 
XVI., who lost an elder brother, his father, and his mother, 
between the years 1771 and 1775. This was a strange mor- 
tality in one family, and resembled the losses in the family of 
Lewis XIV. Those losses were ascribed to poison, and a 
similar charge was revived on the present occasion, but pro- 
bably without any foundation. 

23. The old parliaments were restored at the very com- 
mencement of his reign, in compliance with the general wish 



MODERN HISTORY. 107 

of the nation ; but not without some sacrifice of his private 
opinions and feelings. He had taken into his service two 
ministers favourable in their sentiments to the wishes of tru 
people ; and conjunctly with them, he was undoubtedly jMs 
posed to reform abuses, and promote the happiness of his 
subjects. But, unfortunately, the state of France, and of the 
world in general, destroyed all hope of a temperate and gra- 
dual change. 

24. The declaration of rights which the Americans had 
published to the world, was well calculated to open the eyes 
of those who had not seen the abuses in the French govern- 
ment, and to encourage revolutionary movements. The 
seeds of revolution and of republicanism being thus sown in 
France, it seemed only to require the bringing of that coun- 
try by some means in contact with America, to cause them 
to germinate and revolutionize the nation. This was done 
by the treaty of alliance formed in 1778. 

25. Chatham, Fox, and Burke, at the same time, by their 
speeches in the British parliament in opposition to the war 
with America, which were as so many lessons of liberty pro- 
mulgated to the world, fanned the flame already kindled in 
France. The court of Versailles, while the finances were 
in the utmost disorder, with the exception of the king, fell 
into the greatest extravagance and folly, and manifested a 
disposition to exchange forms and etiquette, for trifling and 
expensive amusements. 

26. The celebrated M. Necker, of Geneva, in 1776, was 
appointed to the office of supreme director of the finances. 
This appointment was highly gratifying to the people at large, 
but very offensive to the privileged orders, who thought they 
saw in a citizen of a republick, and a protestant, a decided 
friend to liberal ideas, and the enemy and corrector of abuses. 
They therefore insisted upon his removal, and by cabal and 
intrigue, effected their object, and M. de Calonne was ap- 
pointed his successor. 

27. He proposed a general land tax, from which there 
should be no exemption, and thus brought matters to a spee« 
dy crisis. This was a much bolder attack upon the privileged 
orders than had ever before been made ; and to carry this 
great point into execution, he advised the king to call an as- 
sembly of the Notables, which had not met since the year 
1626* The king consented, and in February, 1787, this ex- 



108 MODERN HISTORY. 

traordinary assembly met. But it was so far from answering 
the purposes for which it was called, that it was dissolved in 
May, of the same year. 

28. To call a meeting of the states general, was the next 
step of the king. This assembly had not met since the year 
1614, and much was hoped from it, in regard to restoring or- 
der and quiet into the kingdom. But the measure greatly 
alarmed the clergy and the nobility, who foresaw in it the 
destruction of all their privileges, and the lessening of their 
power and influence in the state. The event has shown how 
justly their fears were founded. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. In what year did George III. come to the throne of' England?— 
2. What was one of the first acts of his reign ? — 3. What right had al- 
ways been exercised by the crown? — 4. What is said of the adminis- 
tration of lord Bute? — 5. What added to the popular agitation ? — 6. 
What important constitutional question arose about this time? — 7. 
What distinguished the year 1764 ? — 8. Who was then prime minister 
of England ? — 9. How long did the stamp-act continue in force ? — 10. 
How long after passing the stamp-act did hostilities commence? — 11, 
What European power granted assistance to the Americans? — 12. 
What was the most brilliant and glorious achievement of the English 
during the war? — 13. When was peace ratified between the contend- 
ing powers ? — 14. Between whom did a contest arise in France in the 
reign of Lewis XIV.? — 15. What had hitherto marked the course of 
the French kings in their disputes with their parliaments? — 16. Who 
laid the foundation of the revolution in France? — 17. When were the 
Jesuits expelled from Portugal ? — 18. What greatly contributed to hast- 
en their downfall? — 19. What powers abolished the order of Jesuits 
in November, 1767? — -20. What next drewthe attention of the French 
nation? — 21. Whom did the dauphin marry in 1770? — 22. When did 
Lewis XV. die? — 23. What was done at the very commencement of 
the reign of Louis XVI.? — 24. What was well calculated to open the 
eyes of all who had not seen the abuses in the French government? — 
25. Who by their speeches in the British parliament fanned the flame 
already kindled in France? — 26. Who was appointed to the supreme 
direction of the finances in France, in 1776? — 27. What brought mat- 
ters to a speedy crisis ? — 28. What was the next step of the king? 

SECTION XVL 

AUSTRIA. FRANCE. 

1 . The condition of Austria was peculiarly flourishing 
during the latter part of the reign of the empress Maria The- 
resa. Her army was well disciplined and in good order ; her 
finances in a prosperous state, and the alliance with France 



MODERN HISTORY, 109 

secured by many marriages with its princes. She employed 
herself in advancing by every possible way the happiness of her 
people, in founding schools and academies, encouraging man- 
ufactures, and reforming abuses. She introduced inocula- 
tion into her kingdom, abolished the inquisition, and the prac- 
tice of torture, and suppressed the Jesuits. 

2. November 29, 1785, in the sixty-fourth year of her 
age, and the forty-first of her reign, died the empress Maria 
Theresa. During her illness she displayed a great mind, an 
affectionate heart, and Christian fortitude. She was not ex- 
empt from weaknesses, but her virtues preponderated. Her 
publick virtues were of the most splendid kind, and her pri- 
vate ones of the most amiable. She was the mother of six- 
teen children, nine of whom survived her; four sons and five 
daughters. \ 

3. Joseph, her son, who in 1764 had been chosen king of 
the Romans, succeeded her. He had indeed been chosen 
emperor fifteen years before the death of his mother, and fill- 
ed the imperiaf^irone jointly with her. He made it manifest 
soon after the death of his mother, that he meditated great 
changes, and the reformation of many abuses. But he was 
by no means fitted for such great undertakings ; and the em- 
press, his mother, had, during her life, greatly restrained his 
impetuous and warlike disposition ; but after her death, he 
pursued without control his own whims. 

4. He travelled through Europe in search of knowledge ; 
and had his education been proper for his station, he might 
have done much good to the human race. His manners were 
such as w r ould have led him, had he been rightly directed, to 
have obtained a just knowledge of the wants of the middle 
and lower ranks of men, and a just sense of their claims up- 
on society. In his travels he affected no pomp or parade ; 
sought the conversation of those far below him in rank, and 
encouraged every one to give him information upon those 
subjects which most nearly interested them. 

5. The establishment of a general toleration for all dis- 
senters from the Romish faith, was one of the wisest acts of" 
his reign. He abolished the privilege of primogeniture, and 
the custom of feudal vassallage ; but he made no provision 
for those who were thus deprived of their property, or for 
those who were relieved from bondage. He gave great en- 
couragement to trade, letters, arts, and manufactures ; foun- 

10* 



ilO MODERN HISTORT, 

ded schools and universities, libraries and observatories ; im- 
proved the publick roads, and established free ports. 

6. In November, 1789, the Netherlands declared them- 
selves independent of Austria, and a federal union was form- 
ed, under the title of the " United Belgick States." The 
hasty and injudicious measures of the emperor, in pursuance 
of his plans of reformation, led to this defection of an im- 
portant part of the empire. Had he proceeded with more 
circumspection, and not suddenly and forcibly attempted to 
suppress institutions, forms, and ceremonies, grown sacred 
in the eyes of the people, by long usage, his plans might have 
been carried into effect, and a lasting benefit conferred upon 
his subjects. 

7. February 20, 1790, died the emperor Joseph II. His 
death was probably hastened by the opposition and ill success 
which attended his political course ; and he suffered greatly 
in his mind on account of the loss of the Netherlands., Al- 
though in numerous instances his plans of reform were ill- 
timed and injudicious, and his measures of Avernment often 
oppressive and really tyrannical, yet his conduct is to be at- 
tributed to the defects of his education, and not to his natural 
disposition. He displayed in his last moments great resig- 
nation, fortitude/ and composure; but it is a melancholy 
thought, that his whole life was spent in making himself and 
his fellow creatures wretched. 

8. Leopold II., the brother of Joseph, succeeded to Ihe 
imperial crown. His brother had left his dominions in a mi- 
serable state of discontent and confusion, and exposed to the 
attacks of formidable enemies ; and Leopold himself was 
judged unequal in talents to the management of a mighty 
empire. But he soon relieved the apprehensions of his sub- 
jects, by revoking many of the impolitick and oppressive acts 
of his brother, and restoring some of the ancient privileges 
and immunities. 

9. He regained the Netherlands to the empire, though he 
failed in gaining the affections of the people. The progress of 
the revolution in France, and the critical situation of the royal 
family of that kingdom, to which he was near related, greatly 
embarrassed Leopold. He appears to have been very cau- 
tious of engaging in a war with France, and was probably 
forced intovit by the violence of the Jacobins at Paris. He 
did not, however, live to take any share in the war, but died 



MODERN HISTORY. Ill 

February 27, 1792, aged forty-four years, after an illness of 
three days. 

10. He was succeeded by his son Francis, who became 
emperor in the July following his father's death. He began 
the war with France, but soon found himself in an unpleasant 
situation, from not meeting with that co-operation which he 
had been taught to expect from the French loyalists. Instead 
of invading France with any effect, he found his own domin- 
ions invaded, and before the end of the year, Austrian Ne- 
therlands was wrested from him, and several cities in Germa- 
ny laid under contribution. 

11. May 5, 1789, the states general of France met ac- 
cording to the summons of the king. His address at the 
opening of that assembly, has been admired as that of an 
upright, patriotick, and humane prince, to a body from whose 
legislative exertions was to be expected the restoration of 
peace, and an improvement of the nation. By a vote nearly 
unanimous, and to which the king was obliged to give his as- 
sent, that body assumed the title of the "National Assembly," 
and was declared one and indivisible. 

12. M. Necker was dismissed the second time from the 
post of minister of finance, July 11, 1789 ; but tumults and 
insurrections being the consequence of this ill-timed mea- 
sure, he was soon recalled. In the interim, the state prison, 
called the Bastile, once filled with the victims of arbitrary 
power, but now, under the mild reign of Louis XVI., nearly 
empty, had been assaulted by a furious mob, taken, and le- 
velled to the ground. Alarmed at the posture of affairs, ma- 
ny of the nobles, and one of the king's brothers, left the 
kingdom. This was undoubtedly an injudicious procedure, 
and greatly added to the miseries of the kingdom. 

13. The aristocrats and democrats, the two parties into 
which the national assembly soon divided itself, filled that 
body with their dissensions, and made it manifest, that no be- 
nefit would arise to the kingdom from its sittings. The for- 
mer of these parties were those who favoured royalty, 
the privileged orders, and the nobles and clergy ; the latter of 
them were the advocates of freedom, and the enemies of all 
distinct privileges. They were also called royalists and patri- 
ots. Among the royalists also, may be reckoned those who 
were termed moderates, whose speeches in the assembly are 
admired for their good sense, and sound political principles 



/< 



112 MODERN HISTORY, 

14. The democratick party was the most powerful, as was* 
soon seen ; for, on the fourth of August, 1789, decrees were 
passed, abolishing the privileges of the nobles and of the 
clergy, of the provinces and the towns ; and pronouncing 
persons of every rank and description, eligible to all offices, 
ecclesiastical, civil, and military. All church property was 
placed at the disposal of the nation ; all monastick institu- 
tions, feudal privileges and rights were dissolved ; the provin- 
cial parliaments were suppressed, and the whole kingdom 
divided into eighty-three departments. 

15. The king, with his family, attempted to escape from 
Paris, but was intercepted on his journey, and compelled to 
return. Soon after, the national assembly having completed 
a constitution for the kingdom, it was presented to the king, 
who, after a delay often days, gave it his signature ; and on 
the thirtieth of September, 1791, dissolved the body. Ano- 
ther immediately assembled, denominated the "Legislative 
Assembly," whose deliberations were limited to the space of 
one year. 

16. Austria and Prussia, in the year 1792, interfered in 
behalf of the French king and his family ; but so far from its 
having any good effect, and alarming the revolutionary party, 
it only instigated it to deeds of greater violence, and more 
determined courage. War was declared without hesitation 
against the king of Hungary and Bohemia, and every prepa- 
ration was made to resist any counter revolutionary project. 

17. An attack was made on the palace, in the month of 
August, by a lawless and infuriate mob, and all the Swiss 
guards of the king murdered in the most barbarous manner. 
This attack completed the triumph of faction ; for, as the 
guards, in self-defence, had fired upon the mob, the dema- 
gogues charged the king with having made war upon his peo- 
ple. The cry of " liberty and equality" was now only to be 
heard; and the "chief of the executive power," as they chose 
to call the king, was suspended from his functions, and with 
his queen and family, committed prisoners to the temple. 

18. The execrable Robespierre was now at the head of 
affairs, and it is impossible adequately to describe the barba- 
rities of his inhuman career. This period has justly been 
called u the reign of terrour" La Fayette abandoned the 
army, being unwilling to serve under such masters. Du- 
mouri^r , who succeeded him, was not generally trusted by 



i 



MODERN HISTORY. 113 

the army or the faction ; and to lessen the number of aristo- 
crats, five thousand of them were imprisoned and massacred. 
19. On the eleventh of December, 1792, the king appear- 
ed before the convention, to hear the charges preferred 
against him. The president addressing him, said, "You are 
accused of a multitude of crimes, committed for the purpose 
of re-establishing your tyranny," and then entered into a few 
particulars. The king, with great dignity replied ; " No ex- 
isting laws prohibited me from acting as I did. I had no in- 
tention of injuring my subjects, or of shedding their blood." 
And when farther accusations were pressed upon him, he de- 
fended himself with the same simplicity, coolness, and intre- 
pidity. 

20. On the twenty-first of January, 1793, Louis XVL, 
king of France, was beheaded. Nothing could exceed the 
resignation with which he submitted to the cruel sentence ; 
and when he was going to the square where the guillotine was 
erected, he manifested no fear or anger. When on the scaf- 
fold, he signified a desire to address the people, but the drums 
were ordered to be beaten, and he was commanded in a rude 
and cruel manner to be silent : in a moment after, his head 
was severed from his body, and shown to the people as that 
of a tyrant and a traitor. 

21. On the fifteenth of October, in the same year, Marie 
Antoinette, queen of France, was beheaded. Since the exe- 
cution of the king, every possible indignity had been heaped 
upon her; and after her trial and condemnation, she was cast 
into a dismal dungeon, and delivered into the care of a jailer^ 
seemingly selected on purpose to aggravate her sufferings, 
and insult her misfortunes. On the day of her execution, she 
was conveyed to the scaffold in a common cart, with her 
hands tied behind her, amid the shouts and insults of a brutal 
mob. She was executed in the thirty-eighth year of her age, 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What was the condition of Austria during- the latter part of the 
reign of Maria Theresa ? — 2. When did she die, and at what age ? — 3, 
Who succeeded her ? — 4. What did he do in search of knowledge ?•— 
5. What was one of the wisest acts of his reign ? — 6. When did the 
Netherlands declare themselves independent of Austria ? — 7 When 
did Joseph II. die? — 8. Who succeeded to the imperial Crown? — 9, 
What did he regain ? — 10. Who succeeded Leopold? — 11. When di(| 
the states general of France meet? — 12. Who was dismissed the se- 
cond time from the finance department July 11, 1789?— 13, Wto 



1U MODERN HISTORY. 

were the names of the parties into which the states general of France 
divided itself ? — 14. Which was the most powerful? — 15. What did 
the king- attempt to do ? — lb\ Who, in 1792 interfered in behalf of the 
French king and his .family ? — 17. What was done by a mob in the 
month of August ?-■- -18. Who was at the head of affairs in France ? — 
19. When did the king appear in the contention to hear the charges 
preferred against him? — 20. When was Louis XVI. beheaded ?— 21. 
When was Marie Antoinette queen of France executed ? 

■» mi 90 ft »ii' 

SECTION XVII. 

GREAT BRITAIN. FRANCE, TO THE PEACE OF AMIENS. 

1. The coalition ministry in Great Britain succeeded that 
which negotiated the peace, by which the American war was 
closed. This ministry was so called, from the circumstance 
of Mr. Fox and lord North, after an opposition peculiarly an- 
imated, and a declaration by the former that they differed so 
in principle, as to render a union impracticable, becoming 
joint secretaries of state. This partnership administration, 
md not, however, subsist but a short time, and both secreta- 
ries were dismissed. 

2. Mr. Pitt, a younger son of lord Chatham, at the early 
age of twenty-four, was made prime minister. He entered 
upon the duties of his office under circumstances peculiarly 
embarrassing ; for he had to contend against a majority of 
both houses of parliament, who threatened to effect his re- 
moval by withholding the supplies. But this being thought 
too great an interference with the prerogative, the parliament 
was dissolved, and the people elected new members, who 
"were favourable to Mr. Pitt's administration. 

3. A new sinking fund was established in 1792. By this, 
one per cent., beside the dividends, is raised and applied b} 
the commissioners for the reduction of the national debt. 
In this way every loan has its own fund, which, operating by 
compound interest, will discharge the debt in forty-seven 
years at longest. This is what now constitutes the sinking 
fund of Great Britain. 

4. The extraordinary trial of Mr. Hastings, governour-ge- 
neral of Bengal, occupied the British parliament from 1786 to 
1795. Mr. Burke, affected by the abuses practised in India 
by the servants of the East India company, exhibited charges 
against the governour-general,and he was taken into custody, 

/ 



MODERN HISTORY. IIS 

but afterward admitted to bail. Many and very great abuses 
were oy this trial brought to light ; but its great length gave 
it the appearance of a persecution, and Mr. Hastings was 
finally acquitted. 

5. In 1788, the attention of parliament was first called to 
the slave trade. But it was found so interwoven with the in- 
terests of the West Indian settlements, and depended so 
much on foreign states, as to render it necessary to proceed 
cautiously. The information, however, laid before the house 
was such, as to strike every feeling heart with horrour, on ac- 
count of the cruelties committed in transporting the slaves 
from Africa to the islands. 

6. In the year 1806, after a patient investigation of se- 
veral years, the slave trade w 7 as finally abolished in England, 
and all her dependancos. Some years after this, the Con- 
gress of the United States passed an act, which ranks the 
slave trade with piracy ; but owing to the remissness of seve- 
ral of the European governments, the traffick is not wholly 
suppressed. To the honour of England, however, it ought 
to be mentioned, that no exertion or expense has been spared 
by the government, to detect and punish those who still con- 
tinue the trade. 

7. The dangerous illness of the king, compelled the par- 
liament to meet on the 20th of November, 1788. As the 
king was totally incapacitated for business, and would remain 
so, in all probability, for some time, it became a question into 
whose hands the suspended executive had fallen. The prince 
of Wales did not personally claim the regency, but his party 
claimed it in his behalf; and Mr. Pitt stating that to parliament 
belonged the right of appointing the regency, it was debated 
and settled by vote. The illness of the king was, however; 
of short continuance, and rendered unnecessary all the chan- 
ges which had been contemplated. 

8. A dispute relative to a settlement on the northwest coast 
of America, in the year 1790, nearly involved the courts of 
Spain and England in a war. Some British subjects had 
formed a settlement at Nootka Sound, for the purpose of 
carrying on the fur trade with China. The Spaniards conceiv- 
ing their rights to be infringed, attacked the English, destroyed 
their fort, and captured their vessels. But finding little pros- 
pect of aid from France, Spain acceded to terms before the 
end of the year, and yielded every point in dispute. 



116 MODERN HISTORY, 

9. The dismission of the French minister from England, 
in consequence of the execution of Louis XVI., induced the 
French government to decree war against the king of Great 
Britain, February 3, 1793. In this decree, an evident at- 
tempt was made to separate the people from their sovereign. 
Indeed the French revolutionists, in all their conduct, made 
it manifest, that monarchy, wherever found, was the object 
of their hatred ; and in many instances, they made war, not 
so much because the people had violated any of the rights of 
France, as because they refused, like the French, to decapi- 
tate their king, conform to liberal principles, and adopt a 
republican government. 

10. On the part of the French, the war was attended with 
great and rapid success on the land, but they met with many 
losses at sea. Many of the French West India islands fell 
into the hands of the English, and lord Howe obtained a great 
victory over the Brest fleet, on the first of June. At the 
close of the year 1797, his majesty, George III., with both 
houses of parliament, went in procession to St. PauPs church 
to offer up a thanksgiving for the signal success which had 
attended the naval arms of Great Britain, in all parts of the 
world. 

11. A rebellion broke out in Ireland; 1798, the leaders of 
which, kept up a constant correspondence with the French 
revolutionists. The state of Ireland led to the project of a 
union of that kingdom with England ; and in January, 1799, 
Mr. Pitt brought the measure before parliament. Though 
many and great obstacles presented, the minister persevered 
in his design, and the object was happily effected, in the year 
1801. 

12. The defeat of Tippoo Saib, sultan of Mysore in the 
East Indies, particularly distinguished the last year of the 
eighteenth century. History does not probably exhibit on 
its records, any stronger instance of duplicity and treachery, 
than was practised by this celebrated sultan, against the Brit- 
ish, in the years 1797 and 1798. While he professed the 
warmest attachment to the English, and the greatest devo- 
tion to their service, he managed by secret negociation, to 
excite the French, the Turks, and the native princes, to at- 
tempt the destruction of their empire in the east. 

13. The destruction of their fleet in Egypt, by lord Nel- 
son, and the consequent defeat of their army, disposed the 



MODERN HISTORY. 117 

French government to listen to propositions of peace, which 
was concluded at Amiens, March 25, 1802. Previous to 
this, by a convention held at Petersburgh, between England, 
on the one part, and most of the powers of Europe, on the 
other, the rights of neutrality were settled, and what may be 
considered the law of nations on that point established. 

14. Arms and ammunition, were, by this convention, es- 
tablished as contraband articles ; and if found on board of 
neutral vessels, both vessel and cargo were subjected to con- 
fiscation. The right of search was established as belonging 
to publick armed vessels, and was extended even to merchant 
ships under convoy. It was because of the abuse of this 
principle, by British ships, that the United States of America 
some years after declared war against England. 

15. The situation of France , toward the close of the year 
1793, was extremely deplorable. It lay at the mercy of a 
faction, whom nothing but blood would satisfy. The Rebes* 
pierrean faction determined to destroy every thing which 
even appeared hostile to their plans ; and a decree was 
framed, by which their agents were empowered to arrest and 
imprison any person suspected, not merely as principals, but 
in any way connected with them. 

16. The catholick religion, and indeed all religion, was 
publickly abjured by the French government, on the seven- 
teenth of November, 1793 ; and what was called the religion 
of reason, established by decree. The churches were depri- 
ved of their ornaments, the altar destroyed, and liberty and 
equality, consecrated as objects of worship. The calen- 
dar also underwent a reformation ; the year was divided into 
twelve months of thirty days each ; the names of the months 
denoted the prevalent seasons ; the Sabbath was abolished, 
and every tenth day devoted to rest and amusement. 

17. In July, 1794, Robespierre was accused, condemned , 
and executed by his associates, much to the satisfaction of 
the whole civilized world. His faction quarrelled among 
themselves ; their very crimes rendering them jealous of one 
another, so that in a few months after the execution of the 
queen of France, the earth was rid of such monsters. 

18. Napoleon Bonaparte, a native of Corsica, first distin- 
guished himself, in the year 1793. He was first employed 

in the direction of the artillery, at the seige of Toulon, which 
tbr-a short time had fallen into the hands of the English, 
11 



118 MODERN HISTORY, 

The French generals were placed in such a strange state of 
responsibility by their rulers, that it is a matter of astonish- 
ment that any success attended the efforts of their armies; and 
indeed some of them were compelled to desert, and others 
were proscribed, often for that very valour which had cover- 
ed the nation with glory. 

19. A new constitution was prepared, in 1795, and formal- 
ly accepted and proclaimed, September twenty-third. By 
this, the government was lodged in the hands of five directors, 
chosen by the legislature ; but their responsibility was not 
clearly defined, neither was there sufficient connection be- 
tween them and the legislative bodies, to operate either as a 
balance, or as a restraint. But with all its defects, it made 
a much nearer approach to order, than any which had prece- 
ded it. 

20. A high degree of prosperity at this time marked 
the external condition of France. The campaigns of 1794, 
and 1795, under some of the ablest generals which France 
ever had, were eminently successful. The Belgian states 
surrendered the chief of their fortresses, and associated them- 
selves in a close confederacy with the French republick. 
They soon had reason to repent of their precipitation, for the 
English immediately dispossessed them of many of their for 
eign settlements, particularly the cape of Good Hope, an 
the island of Ceylon. 

21. Louis XVII., the son of Louis XVI., died in the tern 
pie, in June, 1795. His death occurred under circumstan- 
ces very suspicious, having been for some time in the custo- 
dy of a low, drunken wretch, who made it his pastime to insult 
and torment him. He was in his eleventh year when he died. 
His sister was soon after released from prison, being exchange 
cd for certain members of the convention, who had fallen 
into the hands of the allies. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What was the ministry called which succeeded that which nego 
liated the peace with America? — 2. Who was made prime minister or; 
the dismission of the coalition ministry? — 3. What was established in 
1792? — 4. What occupied the British parliament from 1786 to 1790* 
— 5. When was the attention of parliament first called to the slave 
trade?— 6. When was it abolished? — 7. What compelled parliament 
to meet in November, 1788? —8. What, in 1790, nearly involved thr 
courts of Spain and England in a war ?— 9. What induced the French 
government to declare war against the kin** of Great firitajn ir\ 1793 



' ! 



MODERN HISTORY. 119 

—10. With what effect was the war conducted? — 11. What occurred 
in Ireland, in 1798? — 12. What event particularly distinguished the 
last year of the eighteenth century ? -^13. What induced the French 
government to listen to propositions of peace? — 14. What articles 
were established by the convention at Petersburgh, as contraband? 
— 15. What was the situation of France toward the close of the year 
1793?— 16. What took place on the 17th of November, 1793?— 17. 
When was Robespierre executed ? — 18. Who first distinguished him- 
self in 1793?— 19. What was prepared in 1795?— 20 What at this 
time was the external condition of France? — 21. Who died in the 
Cemple in June, 1 795 ? 

SECTION XVIII. 

FRANCE. SPAIN. PORTUGAL. 

1. Early in the year 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte was ap- 
pointed to the command of the army of Italy. Hitherto the 
arms of the French had been more successful in the norths 
than in the south of Europe. But now a new scene of vic- 
tories, revolutions and conquests, such as the world had never 
witnessed, opened to view. Bonaparte was twenty-six years 
of age when he took command of the army of Italy. 

2. Three pitched battles, and seventy inferiour engagements 
were fought by Bonaparte's army in one year ; and in the 
same space of time, he captured a hundred thousand prison- 
ers, fifty field pieces, and two thousand battering cannon : 
and beside supporting his army from the plunder of the con- 
quered countries, he sent thirty millions of francs to the 
French treasury, and three hundred of the choicest and most 
valuable pieces of art, to the national museum. 

3. Not being able to calculate upon the final issue of the 
contest, the Venetians, united neither with the Austrians or 
French. But being divided by broils and dissensions among 
themselves, Bonaparte seized the opportunity, and introducing 
an army into their territories, took possession of their fleet, 
and delivered the country into the hands of Austria, the very 
power from which he pretended he came to rescue them. 

4. On the 15th of April, 1797, preliminaries of peace were 
settled at Campo-Formio, between the emperor of Austria 
and the French republick. Previous to this, Bonaparte had 
compelled the emperor to fly from his capital ; his army had 
been reduced to X 5,000 men, and his dominions plundered 



t20 MODERN HISTORY 






and overrun, till he was now in a manner left to the mercy 
of his enemies. 

5. On the fourth and fifth of September, 1797, two of the 
directors of the French government, many publick ministers, 
several men of letters, and the authors, editors, &c. of forty- 
two publick journals, were banished to Guiana, South Ameri- 
ca. Some found means to escape ; those who did not, suf- 
fered dreadfully from the voyage, and after their arrival, 
many died from the unwholesomeness of the climate. Some 
few found means to escape after their transportation, and 
returned to Europe. 

6. An expedition against Egypt was undertaken by Bo- 
naparte, in the year 1798 ; at least, this was his ostensible 
object, for to this day it remains a doubt what was the real 
design. It seems most probable, however, that the plan was 
to co-operate with Tippoo Saib, in India, in subverting the 
British empire in the east. He was accompanied by many 
artists, naturalists, and antiquarians, and a large proportion 
of the army which had served under him in Italy. 

7. On his way to Egypt he conquered the island of Malta : 
and that island, as well as its dependances, Goza, and Cumi- 
no, was subjected to the French republick. On the second 
of July, Bonaparte moored his fleet in the bay of Aboukir. 
Here he was attacked, on the first of August, by a British fleet 
under Lord Nelson, and his whole naval force destroyed. 
When he left Toulon, he had 400 sail, including ships of thfe 
line and transports. 

8. This victory of Nelson, gave a new turn to the war. 
He carried his fleet with the captured ships to Naples, where 
the greatest joy was manifested at his victory. The queen 
of Naples urged the Austrians to renew the war, and the 
Czar of Russia, the grand Seignior, the kings of England and 
Sardinia, and the duke of Tuscany, all united in preparing to 
attack France. 

9. Naples, as she had begun the war, suffered first from 
its ravages. The city was taken, the royal family expelled 
from the kingdom, and a new government was established. 
Rome surrendered to the French, and the pope being taken 
prisoner, was carried to Valence, where he died, August 29, 
1799. On the establishment of the consular government, his 
body was honourably interred, and a monument erected to 
his memory. 



MODERN HISTORY. 121 

10. Bonaparte marched into Syria, while these events 
were transpiring in Europe, took many strong fortresses, and 
for three months carried on a war in the very heart of the 
country. But failing in an attempt upon Acre, he resolved 
to return into Egypt ; where, receiving letters from France, 
informing him of the disorders at .Paris, and pressing him to 
return, he embarked secretly for Europe, and escaping all the 
English cruisers, arrived safe in France, where his presence 
excited the liveliest expressions of joy. 

11. The consular government was now established in 
France, and Bonaparte chosen first consul. Popular liberty, 
by reason of the excesses of the Jacobins, had fallen into 
disrepute, and the minds of the French were evidently pre- 
paring for a willing return to monarchy. " Unity of thought 
and action ivas declared to be a fundamental quality in the ex- 
ecutive power." As consul, Bonaparte had all the power of 
a king, though not the name. 

12. A spirit of moderation, forbearance and reconciliation 
marked the first acts of Bonaparte's power. He made over- 
tures of peace to England, which were rejected ; and a large 
subsidy granted to Francis XL, to enable him to carry on 
the war. The French lost no time in endeavouring to re- 
gain what they had lost in Italy ; and in May 1800, the first 
consul left Paris to take command of the army in that quarter. 
He passed through Switzerland, and appearing in Italy be- 
fore the Austrians expected him, they were compelled to 
retire. 

13. On the fourteenth of June 1800, was fought the fa- 
mous battle of Marengo. The Austrians fought for fourteen 
hours with the greatest intrepidity, and in the commencement 
of the action, with the fairest prospect of success ; but 
the French receiving a re-enforcement at a critical moment, 
victory decided in favour of the latter, and the Austrian gen- 
eral immediately after, found it necessary to demand a sus- 
pension of hostilities 

14. The treaty of Luneville was signed, February 9, 1801, 
between the French republick and the empire. By this trea- 
ty the Rhine was made the boundary of the French repub- 
lick, and the independence of the Batavian, Helvetick and 
Cisalpine republicks was recognized and guaranteed by both 
parties. At this time, the power of the French republick was 
enormous, and her territories immense. Her West Indian 



122 MODERN HISTORY, 

possessions had been recovered, and she had also gained 
considerable footing in South America. 

15. The catholick religion was restored on Easter day, 
1802. A convention had been made with the pope the year 
before. By this it was agreed, that the French republick 
should be divided into diocesses ; that the first consul should 
nominate the new archbishops and bishops ; that the pope 
should procure the ancient bishops to resign, and not disturb 
the alienated property of the church ; and that no bull or re- 
script from the court of Rome, decrees of synods, or gene- 
ral councils, should be received or promulgated in France 
without the consent of government 

16. On the second of August, 1802, Bonaparte was cho- 
sen first consul for life. It had been proposed only to extend 
the first period of service, which was ten years ; but the peo- 
ple almost unanimously voted to grant it to him for life, and 
the senate readily gave their consent. This appointment was 
followed by such, a change in the constitution as gave the first 
consul power to nominate his colleagues, make war, form 
alliances, conclude peace, and pardon criminals. All this 
was done, while liberty, equality, and popular representation, 
were the professed objects in view. 

17. In May 1803, hostilities were renewed between France 
and England. The first consul professed to be bound by the 
treaty of Amiens only in some specified points ; and the great 
liberties taken with him by some of the English journals, 
might very justly offend him. Still, it is probable that the 
jealousy and distrust manifested by the English government, 
provoked and irritated him. 

18. All the English, whom either business or pleasure had 
led into France, during the short peace, were detained by the 
first consul as a sort of hostages, for the future conduct of 
their country. He also projected an invasion of England ; 
but this only had the effect of rousing the latter country to 
greater exertions and sacrifices, and thus to frustrate all his 
schemes and intentions. Another act of vengeance was, to 
send an army to occupy the electorate of Hanover, belong- 
ing to the king of Great Britain. 

19. On the 18th of May, 1804, Bonaparte was declared 
emperor of the French. By a decree of the senate, the 
title was to be hereditary in his family, and in case he should 
lie without male issue, he was empowered to adopt any of the 



MODERN HISTORY. 12S 

descendants of either of his brothers. All laws were to origi- 
nate with the sovereign, or to be proposed in his name. The 
emperial title thus conferred on Bonaparte, was acknow r - 
ledged by most of the states of Europe, except England^ 

20. On the 2d of November, 1804, Napoleon and his 
wife, were crowned emperor and empress of the French, 
with extraordinary pomp and splendour. The pope having 
been previously invited, was present at the ceremony, and 
anointed the new sovereigns. The two brothers of Napole- 
on, and his two colleagues in the consulship, were promoted 
to the highest dignities, and several eminent persons were 
brought to trial and executed. General Moreau was ban- 
ished to America, and every measure was taken to render 
the new throne firm and stable. 

21. The memorable battle of Trafalgar, was fought, Oc- 
tober 21, 1805, between the combined fleets of France and 
Spain, and a British fleet under lord Nelson. The combined 
fleets consisted of thirty-three ships ; that of the English of 
twenty-seven. The latter were victorious, taking or destroy- 
ing more than half of their opponents. Lord Nelson was 
killed in this action. 

22. " The confederation of the Rhine," was formed in 
1806. By this, several princes of Germany renounced the 
laws of the empire, and contracted an alliance with Napoleon, 
engaging to supply him with troops when he should demand. 
In consequence of this, the emperor of Germany abdicated 
the government; absolved all the electors-, princes, and 
states, from their obligations to him, and thus terminated a 
government which had subsisted a thousand years, and con- 
tinued in one family, since the year 1438. 

23. Prussia, in 1806, entered into a war with Napoleon,, 
and sustained a fatal defeat. Bonaparte entered the Prussian 
capital in triumph, where he was well received by the peo- 
ple ; but he took due advantage of their submission. The 
rapid progress of the French in Prussia, alarmed the czar of 
Russia and the king of England ; and their fears induced 
them to afford that assistance to Frederick, king of Prussia, 
which at least he had not merited. 

24. The famous Berlin decree was issued by Napoleon, 
in November, 1806, during his stay at Berlin. By this, he 
declared all the British islands to be in a state of biockade v , 
though he had no naval force to carry it into effect. The 



124 MODERN HISTORY. 

whole trade of England was proscribed ; the vessels of any 
nation touching at any of her ports, and afterward entering a 
French port, were confiscated ; and every port in Prussia, 
Denmark, the Hanse towns, Holland, Flanders, France, 
Spain, Italy, &c, shut against British vessels and merchan- 
dise. 

25. In December, 1788, Charles IV. came to the throne 
of Spain. As this was just at the commencement of the 
French revolution, the Spaniards were soon involved in the 
catastrophes it occasioned. Early in the year 1793, the 
Spanish court, offended at the indignities offered to the royal 
family of France, invaded that country, and took the town of 
Belgrade. The French in their turn, invaded Spain, and 
gained some important places in it. 

26. The unjustifiable seizure of the Spanish treasure ships 
by the English, led to a war between the two countries in 
1805. In this war she was far from successful, losing great 
part of her fleet in the battle of Trafalgar, already mentioned. 
The Spanish government was at this time of but little weight 
in the scale of European politicks, and her security was de- 
rived chiefly from the jealousy of the different powers toward 
each other. 

27. Portugal was invaded by France, in 1807, Spain ha- 
ving given the armies of Napoleon permission to pass through 
her territories. The king of Portugal, advised and protected 
by the English, left his kingdom, and with his family embarked 
for America, on the 21st of November, 1807. On the 30th 
of the same month, the French army entered Lisbon. 

28. On the 19th of March, 1808, Charles IV., king of 
Spain, harrassed and distressed by the tumults and disorders 
of his kingdom, resigned his crown in favour of his son, since, 
Ferdinand VII. ; but he soon after revoked his abdication, 
declaring that it was forced from him by the dread of person- 
al violence. Soon after, Napoleon, in a manner very extra- 
ordinary, obtained the resignation of both Charles and Fer- 
dinand, in favour of Joseph Bonaparte, whom he causedto 
be proclaimed king of Spain, and on the 20th of July, 1808, 
the new sovereign entered Madrid. 

29. The Spanish nation refused to ratify the abdication of 
their sovereign, and place one of the Bonaparte family on the 
fhrone. In the same month that Joseph entered Madrid, a 
general insurrection took place in all the principal provinces : 



MODERN HISTORY. 125 

a junta, or council of the magistrates and constituted authori- 
ties, was formed at Seville, and other remote places ; Ferdi- 
nand VII. was proclaimed king, and war openly denounced 
against the French. Joseph was compelled to retire from 
Madrid to Burgos, after plundering the treasury and securing 
the crown jewels. 

30. The English, solicited by Spain and Portugal, took 
up arms in order to rescue those kingdoms from the grasp of 
Napoleon. Sir Arthur Wellesley, afterward duke of Welling- 
ton, was sent with an army into Portugal, and defeating the 
French at the decisive battle of Vimeira, compelled them to 
evacuate the kingdom. 

31. Sir John Moore, now led an army of twenty thousand 
men into Spain, and about the same time, Napoleon quitted 
Paris to take command of the French army in that country. 
The English, not being supported by the Spaniards, as they 
had given them reason to expect, and the French receiving 
continual re-enforcements, were compelled to evacuate the 
kingdom, and Joseph Bonaparte re-entered Madrid, in Jan- 
uary, 1809, with great pomp. 

32. In June, 1809, Wellesley re-entered Spain with a 
more formidable English army, and by the 2Cth of July, was 
so situated as to be able to threaten Madrid. On the 27thr 
and 28th of the same month, he was attacked at Talavera by 
Joseph Bonaparte, assisted by four marshals, but repelled 
him with great loss. For his great skill and bravery in this 
hard fought action, the British commander was raised to a 
peerage, with the title of viscount Wellington, of Talavera. 

33. The battle of Salamanca, fought on the 22d of July, 
1812, completed the overthrow of the French power in Spain, 
and on the 12th of August opened the gates of Madrid to 
the English. Lord Wellington was hailed as the liberator of 
Spain, and Joseph Bonaparte with his army quitted the king- 
dom, never to return. Had the Spaniards at the first, con- 
fided the war wholly to the English government, their deliver- 
ance might much sooner have been effected. 

34. In the year 1819, the old king, Charles IV., died at 
Rome. The same battle which delivered Spain from the 
armies of France, restored independence to Portugal. On 
the 20th of March, 1816, Maria Isabella, queen of Portugal, 
died, and was succeeded by John VI. The seat of govern- 
ment was then at Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, South America, 



J2<i MODERN HISTORY. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. When was Napoleon Bonaparte appointed to the command ot 
the aimy of Italy? -2. How many battles and engagements were 
fought by Napoleon's army in one year? — 3. Why did the Venitians 
hesitate in regard to uniting with either the Austrians or the French? 
— 4. When were preliminaries of peace settled between the emperor 
of Austria and the French ? — 5. Who were banished to Guiana on the 
4th and 5th of September 1797? - 6. What did Bonaparte undertake 
in the year 1798 1—1. What did he do on his way to Egypt?— 8. What 
gave a new turn to the war ? 9. Who suffered "first from the ravages 
of the war? — 10. Into what place in the cast did Bonaparte march?-— 

11. What government was at this time established in France? — 

12. What marked the first acts of Bonaparte as first consul? — 13. 
When was fought the famous battle of Marengo? — 14. What treaty 
was signed February 9, 1801 ? 15. What was done on Easter day 
1802? — 16. When was Bonaparte chosen r>at consul for life? — 17. 
When were hostilities renewed between France and England?— 18. 
Who were detained in France by the first consul as a sort of hostages: 
— 19. When was Bonaparte declared emperor of the French ? — 20. 
When were he and his wife crowned? — 21. What battle was fought, 
October 21, 1805?— 22. What was formed in 18067—23. Who in 
1806 entered into a war with Napoleon and sustained a fatal defeat? 
— 24. What was issued bv Napoleon in November 1806? — 25. When 
did Charles IV. come to the throne of Spain ? — 26. What led to a war 
between England and Spain in 1805? 27. What country was inva- 
ded by France in 1807 7 — 28. When did Charles IV resign the crown 
of Spain to his son ? — 29. What did the Spanish nation refuse to do ? 
■ — 30. Who took up arms to rescue Spain and Portugal from France? 
— 31. Who led an army of twenty thousand men into Spain? — 32. 
When did Wellesly re-enter Spain ? — 33. iVhat completed the over- 
throw of the French in Spain ?— 34. When did the old king, Charle:, 
XV., die? 



SECTION XIX. 

FRANCE. POLAND. GREAT BRITAIN. 

1. On the 17th of December, 1807, Bonaparte issued hib 
celebrated Milan decree. In virtue of this, every ship which 
should consent to be visited by the English, or consent to 
any exactions whatever, was to be confiscated. His Berlin 
decree, had shut all the ports of Europe against British ships, 
and all British ports against foreign vessels, if they intended 
to proceed ultimately to any part under French dominion. 
These two decrees, with the corresponding British orders in 
council, almost entirely closed all commercial intercourse be- 
tween different parts of the world, and pressed heavily upon 
rrcutral powers. 



MODERN HISTORY. 12? 

2. On the 9th of April, 1809, war was renewed with Aus- 
tria. So rapid was the progress of the French, that after three 
severe actions, Bonaparte found himself master of Vienna, 
on the twelfth of May ; but before the autumn was past, a 
peace was concluded which was extremely humiliating to the 
emperor, Francis II. He was compelled to cede several of 
his provinces to different powers, and to acknowledge Joseph 
Bonaparte as king of Spain. 

3. April 2, 1810, Napoleon was married to Maria Louisa, 
daughter of the emperor of Austria. He had previously di- 
vorced his wife Josephine, for reasons of state, and not for 
any blemish which could be attached to her character. On 
the 20th of March, 1811, Napoleon was gratified with the 
birth of a son, who, in accordance with previous arrange- 
ments, was dignified with the title of king of Rome. 

4. In June, 1812, Napoleon, offended with the czar o 
Russia, declared war against him, and induced Prussia and 
Austria to give him assistance. The force which he led into 
Russia, consisted of 400,000 infantry, 60,000 cavalry, and 
twelve hundred pieces of cannon. The army was composed 
of French, Germans, Poles, Dutch, Swiss, Spaniards, and 
Portuguese. 

5. On the fourteenth of September, the French emperor 
entered Moscow; having left France the ninth of May* 
and crossed the river Neimen on the twenty-fourth of June* 
His reception in the chief city of Russia, was very different 
from that which he had been in the custom of receiving in 
other conquered cities. The city was fired by order of the 
governour, and the ruins only were left to shelter the French,, 
in a climate to which they were wholly unaccustomed, and 
with a]l the severity of a Siberian winter before them. 

6. On the tenth of October, having vainly solicited a sus- 
pension of arms, Napoleon, and his ill-fated army, com- 
menced their return toward France. Nothing can equal the 
difficulties and distresses of their march : the weather was 
uncommonly severe, even for that climate ; the country 
around them was rendered desolate by its inhabitants ; food ? 
►shelter and fuel were scarcely to be obtained : and to crown 
their miseries, the Russians and Cossacks continualy hovered 
around them, killing and destroying all who ventured far 
from the main army. 

7. Bonaparte quitted his army in disguise, on the sixth of 



128 MODERN HISTORY. 

December, and with a few of his officers pursued his way to 
Paris, where he arrived at midnight, on the 18th of the same 
month. In this rash expedition, he lost in various ways a 
hundred and sixty-seven thousand men. Such an issue of 
his project, it was naturally expected, would have terminated 
his exertions ; but in this the world was disappointed ; for 
early the following year he recommenced hostilities. 

8. Afresh army of three hundred and fifty thousand men was 
raised, and led into the field. But he had not now to contend 
with Russia alone. Austria, Prussia, and Sweden, now op- 
posed him, and many of his German confederates ventured to 
abandon his cause. The allied powers appeared to be more 
United and more in earnest than on any former occasion; and 
in the course of the summer, many battles were fought, but 
none of them were decisive. 

9. On the 16th, 18th, and 19th days of October, was 
fought the great battle of Leipsick, which has been fitly called 
the " battle of nations." The French sustained a signal de- 
feat, and Leipsick was taken, with its garrison of thirty thou- 
sand men, and twenty-two thousand sick, with all the French 
magazines, artillery, and stores. The emperor of Russia, the 
king of Prussia, and the crown prince of Sweden, entered the 
city at different points, and met in the great square amid the 
acclamations of the people. 

10. On the 2d of December, the allies having passed the 
Rhine, invaded France. On the 31st of March, 1814, the 
emperor of Russia, and the king of Prussia, at the head of 
their armies, entered Paris, which city, Bonaparte and his 
generals had left some time before. The allied sovereigns, 
in all their manifestoes and declarations, were careful to 
make a distinction between the French people and Napoleon, 
and wisely manifested a disposition to bury the past in oblivion. 

11. On the 11th of April, Bonaparte abdicated the throne, 
having, on the 2d of the same month, been deposed by the 
senate. The allies permitted him to retire to Elba, and retain 
his imperial titles, having that island and its dependances as- 
signed to him as sovereign, with a revenue of two millions 
of francs. The duchies of Parma, Guastalla, and Placen- 
tia were assigned to Maria Louisa, and her descendants. 
Provision was made for all the other members of Napoleon's 
family. On the 20th of April, Bonaparte set out for the seat 
of his new dominions. 



MODERN HISTORY. 129 

12. The defects of her constitution has probably caused 
Poland more and greater sufferings, than any country of Eu- 
rope has experienced. The monarchy being elective, every 
vacancy in the throne gave rise to cabals, commotions, and 
intrigues, produced generally by foreign interference. At no 
period did Poland suffer more from these causes, than at the 
beginning of the eighteenth century. From that period to 
the present, Poland has been in a state of internal disunion 
and distraction, extremely favourable to the views of foreign 
potentates. 

13. The king of Prussia originated the plan of dismem- 
bering Poland, and particular circumstances greatly favoured 
the project. Frederick, not being very rapacious himself, 
was willing, in order to induce the other powers to favour his 
plans, to allow them more territory and greater population 
than fell to his share. In admitting Austria to any share at 
all, he made no scruple in declaring, that his principle motive 
was, that she might bear her part in the blame which might 
be attached to an act so arbitrary and rapacious. 

14. One third of Poland was seized by the partitioning 
powers, Russia, Prussia, and Austria, at the time of the first 
division. A second partition took place in 1793, by which 
Russia gained four thousand square miles of territory, and 
Prussia one thousand. A third and last partition took place 
in 1798, which may be said to have ended the kingdom of 
Poland. The slaughter attending these two last partitions, 
resisted as they were by the Poles, was dreadful ; and the 
Russians were chargeable with acts of cruelty, of which, hap* 
pily, there are but few examples on record. 

15. In the year 1807, Louis XVIII. of Franco, and his 
family took up their residence in England, as their situation 
on the continent became every day more and more insecure. 
The king, who styled himself the count de Lisle, and who 
declined all attentions not due to a private nobleman, fixed 
his residence at Hartwell, in Buckinghamshire. 

16. The orders in council were issued in January and 
November, 1807. By these, all intercourse between Britain 
and France was prohibited, and all neutrals, trading to any 
French port, were compelled to stop at a port in England^ 
and pay a duty proportionate to the value of the cargo. The 
effect of these prohibitory and regulating decrees, involved 
Crreat Britain in some very unpleasant disputes, particularly 

12 



130 MODERN HISTORY. 

with the United States of America, whose commerce greatly 
suffered. 

17. On the 20th of December, 1810, in consequence of 
the partial derangement of his father, George III., who had 
now entered upon the 50th year of his reign, the prince of 
Wales was appointed regent of the kingdom, subject to those 
restrictions which had been adopted on a similar occasion, in 
1788. Early in 1812, these restrictions were to cease, and 
the prince, though remonstrating against them, accepted the 
trust. Few changes were made in the ministry. 

18. Mr. Percival, prime minister of England, was assassi- 
nated in the lobby of the house of commons, in May, 1812. 
A person by the name of Bellingham perpetrated the deed, 
in revenge, as he afterward confessed, for a private injury, 
which he said he had received from government. It did not 
appear that Mr. Percival was the particular object of his re- 
venge, but being the first who presented himself to his view* 
he made him the victim. 

19. In May, 1816, the princess Charlotte, only child of the 
prince of Wales, and heiress to the British crown, was mar- 
ried to Leopold George Frederick, prince of Cobourg. This 
marriage was highly gratifying to the English nation ; but then- 
joy was quickly turned into mourning, for the princess sud- 
denly expired, in November, 1817. In November of the fol- 
lowing year, queen Charlotte also expired ; and in January, 
1820, these deaths were followed by that of George III. 
The king died at a very advanced age, and in the 60th year 
of Ins reign. His death was greatly regretted by the nation, 
by whom he was justly beloved for his many virtues. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. When did Bonaparte issue his celebrated Milan decree? — 2. 
When was war renewed with Austria? — 3. When was Bonaparte 
married to Maria Louisa'? — 4. When did Napoleon declare war 
against the czar of Russia? — 5. When did he enter Moscow? — 6. 
When did he commence his return toward France? — 7. What became 
of Bonaparte after the destruction of his army in Russia? — 8. How 
large an army did he now raise and lead into the field? — 9. When was 
fought the battle of Leipsick, called the "battle of nations?" — 10. 
When did the allies cross the Rhine, and invade France? — 11. When 
did Bonaparte abdicate the throne? — 12. What has caused Poland 
more and greater sufferings than any other country in Europe? — 13. 
Who originated the plan of dismembering Poland? — 14 How much 
of Poland was seized by the partitioning powers? — 15. When did 
-Louis XVIII. take up his residence in England ? — 16. What were is- 



MODERN HISTORY. 131 

saed in January and November, 1807? — 17. When was the prince of 
Wales appointed regent of the kingdom? — 18. What took place in 
May, 1812 ?— 19. What took place in May, 1816 ? 

SECTION XX. 

FRANCE. NORTHERN STATES OF EUROPE. 

1. Louis XVIII., soon after Napoleon left France for El- 
ba, was recalled by the French people to the throne of his 
ancestors. His departure from England was attended with 
acclamations ; the prince regent accompanied him to Dover, 
where he took leave of him in a manner at once impressive 
and affecting ; and on almost all the churches near which he 
passed, white flags were displayed. France, however, did 
not so generally manifest joy at his return. France, since 
he left it, had been entirely revolutionized, and had undergone 
great changes ; many who returned with the king, were in- 
terested in having these changes reversed, and in reclaiming 
all that had been confiscated. 

2. The armies of France were in general much attached 
to Bonaparte, as having raised them to a high degree of glo- 
ry, and though his treatment of them in the disastrous Rus- 
sian campaign had been cruel, yet they felt both disgust and 
resentment at the intrusion of strangers into their country and 
metropolis. The proximity of the place of Napoleon's exile, 
enabled him fully to learn what was passing in France, and 
the sentiments of the people toward him, and he determined 
to return, in order to try the event of another struggle for the 
throne. 

3. On the 1st of March, 1815, Napoleon once more land- 
ed on the coast of France, with only 1140 attendants, and 
immediately set out for Paris. On his way, he was every 
where received with the greatest expressions of joy, and the 
troops sent against him, instead of opposing his progress, 
ranged themselves under his standard. On the 20th of 
March., Louis quitted Paris; and on the evening of the same 
day, Napoleon entered the city, amid the acclamations of 
that populace, which so short a time before, in the same man- 
ner, saluted the return of the Bourbons. 

4. On the 18th of June, 1815, was fought the battle of 
Waterloo, which decided for ever, the hopes and the prospects 
of Napoleon. The duke of Wellington, and marshal Blu~ 



132 MODERN HISTORY. 

cher, commanded the allied forces, and obtained a decided 
victory over the armies of the French. Bonaparte fled from 
the field, and seeing that all was lost, in a few days after the 
battle, resigned his throne the second time. 

5. On the loth of July, he surrrendered himself into the 
hands of the English, by going on board of the Bellerophon 
man of war, captain Maitland, commander, who sailed imme- 
diately for England, with his prisoner. On the 3d of July. 
Paris once more surrendered to the allies, and on the 8th. 
Louis returned, greeted as before by the cheers of the fickle 
multitude. 

6. St. Helena, a small rocky island in the Atlantick ocean, 
was assigned as the residence of the dethroned emperor, as be- 
ing the only place where he could with safety be kept. He was 
accordingly sent thither, the British government undertaking 
his custody, and the Austrian, French, and Russian govern- 
ments, sending commissioners to reside on the island. 

7. A general restoration of the works of art to the several 
countries from which they had been taken, was determined 
upon by the allied commanders. This measure, though se- 
verely mortifying to the French nation, was, nevertheless, 
undoubtedly an act of justice. Prussia had a special inter- 
est in claiming this restitution, for Berlin and Potsdam were 
among the despoiled cities ; but England had no such in- 
terest. 

8. An army of occupation, consisting of one hundred and 
fifty thousand men, maintained chiefly by France, by the se- 
cond pacification of Paris, was left by the allies to secure the 
country from revolution. This army was put in possession 
of all the frontier fortresses for the space of five years, and 
the boundaries of France were still farther reduced. But be- 
fore the expiration of the five years, the state of the country 
was such as to justify a departure from the strict letter of the 
treaty, and in 1817, one-fifth of the army was withdrawn, and 
in 1818, the whole of it, and the fortresses were restored. 

9. Peter II., grandson of Peter L, succeeded the em- 
press Catharine I., in Prussia. MenzicofT, who had been 
prime minister in the last reign, was now banished to Siberia 
with his wife and children. In 1730, Peter died of the small 
pox ; and in him the male line becoming extinct, Anne, duch- 
ess of Courland, was called to the throne, contrary to the 
order of "succession established bv Peter the Great, and to th< 



MODERN HISTORY. 133 

prejudice of the duchess of Mecklenburg, her eldest sister. 
They were both the daughters of I wan, the eldest brother of 
Peter. 

10. The reign of Anne was prosperous and glorious. She 
resisted the intrigues, and balanced the power, of her states- 
men, counsellors, and generals, with great sagacity and firm- 
ness, and maintained her prerogatives against all who inva- 
ded them. She banished the minister Dolgorouki, who had 
raised her to the throne, into Siberia, on account of his ambi- 
tion, which created continual disturbances. Her death hap- 
pened in 1740. 

11. Iwan, her nephew, son of the princess of Mecklen- 
burg was her successor ; but she appointed count Biren, 
whom she had brought with her from Courland, regent, and 
this threw the empire into disorder. The count was deserv- 
edly unpopular among the Russians, twenty thousand of 
whom he is said to have banished in Siberia ; and he had 
moreover a powerful rival in count Munich, who finally over- 
threw the power of the regent, and caused his banishment. 
A revolution in the empire was the consequence of all 
these discontents. A party was raised, whose object was to 
place the princess Elizabeth on the throne, and aided by the 
French, quickly became strong. The emperor and his pa- 
rents were seized, put in confinement, and Elizabeth was 
proclaimed empress. This revolution took place in Novem- 
ber, 1741. 

12. An uninterrupted career of glory and success, distin- 
guished the reign of Elizabeth, and the greatest powers of 
Europe courted her alliance. She took wise and prudent 
measures to advance the happiness of her people, and pro- 
mote the glory of the nation, as well as the security of the 
throne. The order of succession, as established by Peter 
the Great, was restored, and the duke of Holstein, son of her 
eldest sister, was declared her successor. He took the 
name of Peter III. Elizabeth died in 1762. 

13. The reign of Peter was short and unpopular. His 
wife, Catharine, a woman of singular character, and to whom 
the prince, her husband, had not behaved well, connived at, 
if she did not encourage a party which had conspired against 
him, and he was deposed, if not assassinated, not many 
months after his accession to the throne. Catharine?, by her 
address and intrepidity, succeeded in placing herself on the 

12* 



134 MODERN HISTORY. 

vacant throne, and destroying all her competitors, and even 
the party which had aided her designs. 

14. Catharine II. reigned thirty-four years, with great glo- 
ry arid success ; continually occupied in advancing the pros- 
perity of her people, increasing her dominions, and rewarding 
merit. She wrested the Crimea from the Turks ; undertook 
an expedition for the liberation of the Greeks, which was 
however unsuccessful ; and took an active part in the parti- 
tion of Poland, of which country a large share fell into her 
hands. In this last act, she appears to have been restrained 
by no principles of justice, humanity, morality, or virtue. 
She died in 1796, and was succeeded by her son, Paul I. 

15. Paul I. was a prince of strange character, unestab- 
lished in his principles, dissolute in his manners, and jealous 
and vindictive in his disposition. Toward the close of his 
life, he appeared to have lost his senses. On his first acces- 
sion, however, he seemed anxious to prevent the evils arising 
from an unsettled succession, by passing an act, securing the 
crown to his direct and lineal descendants, not excluding 
females. 

16. A conspiracy was formed against him by some of his 
officers and nobility, and he was dethroned and slain, March 
24, 1801. This event gave great joy to his subjects, who 
groaned under his tyranny and oppressions. He was suc- 
ceeded by his son Alexander, who was a wise and virtuous 
prince, seeking the true happiness of his people ; and under 
him the nation arrived at a very high degree of glory and 
prosperity, 

17. Prussia, as a kingdom, is not older than the eighteenth 
century. Its power and glory may be said to have taken its 
rise from the wisdom, good sense, and judgement of the elec- 
tor, Frederick William, who died in 1688. The kingly title 
was first assumed by his son, in 1701 ; and it was confirmed 
to him by the acknowledgement of the other states of Europe. 
By his prudence, good management and attention, he repair- 
ed the losses sustained by his father's extravagance, and 
amassed great treasures, and laid the foundation of all that 
glory and prosperity which has raised Prussia in the scale 
of Europe. 

18. Frederick William II., sometimes called Frederick 
III., came to the throne in 1740. He so managed, as to 
raise his scattered, ill-sorted and disjointed kingdom to the first 



MODERN HISTORY. 135 

rank of power and renown, and applied himself unremitting- 
ly to the improvement of his dominions, to increase the wealth 
and happiness of his subjects, and to diffuse among them a 
knowledge of science and of arts* 

19. In August, 1786, at the age of seventy-five, Freder- 
ick died. He was more admired than esteemed ; more dis- 
tinguished for bravery in the field, wisdom in council, and 
great attainments in literature, than for any great and noble 
virtues. He is generally reputed the author of two very im- 
portant measures ; the partition of Poland, and the armed 
neutrality. The credit of the first measure, may probably 
be divided between him and Catharine, of Russia ; the last 
reflects no disgrace to his memory. 

20. Frederick was succeeded by his nephew, Frederick 
William II. He took part in the opposition to France, in 

1792, and was active in the two last partitions of Poland, in 

1793, and 1795. By these two partitions, he gained consi- 
derable additions to his territories. He died in 1797, at the 
age of fifty-three, leaving his crown to his son, Frederick III. 
This prince coming to the throne just at the time that Bona- 
parte began his career, was necessarily involved in all the 
troubles and confusion of the times. Since the pacification 
of Paris, in 1815, Prussia has enjoyed a state of extwnal 
peace, though her internal concerns have been somewhat 
disturbed. 

21. Ulrica Elenora, the youngest sister of Charles XII., 
succeeded him on the throne of Sweden, at his death, by the 
free election of the states. The new queen submitted to all 
the conditions which the states thought proper to impose, for 
limiting the royal authority; but soon after her accession, she 
resigned the crown to her husband, the hereditary prince of 
Hesse Cassel, who was crowned in 1720, by the title of Fred- 
erick I. The new king ruled the kingdom with little dignity 
or spirit ; submitted to every thing the states imposed, till, in 
the end, the government became less monarchial than repub- 
lican. 

22. The factions of Hats and Caps, originated in this 
reign, and caused great trouble. The former was under the 
influence of France, the latter of Russia. By the influence 
of the Hats, Sweden was involved in a war with Russia, for 
which she was not prepared, and from which she suffered 
considerably. By the treaty of Abo, in 1743, her losses were 



m MODERN HISTORY. 

in some measure restored, but upon the consideration that 
Frederick should adopt as his successor, Adolphus Freder- 
ick, who was also presumptive heir to the throne of Russia. 

23. In 1751, Adolphus Fredenck came to the crown, and 
was disturbed by the same tactions which had distracted the 
former reign. He made some endeavours to recover his lost 
authority, and put down foreign influence ; but his efforts 
were vain. The anarchy and confusion which prevailed, are 
inconceivable ; and the king, wholly dispirited by these dis- 
turbances, died in 1771. 

24. His eldest son, Gustuvus III., succeeded him. He 
was twenty-five years of age at his accession ; by birth, a 
Swede ; active and spirited, and bent on recovering what had 
been so tamely surrendered by hi3 predecessors of their rights 
and prerogatives. He found means to gain the army to his 
interests, and in 1772, he established a new constitution, with 
such good management and address, as hardly to disturb the 
publick tranquility. 

25. The convening and dissolving the states, the entire 
disposal of the army and navy, and all publick appointments, 
were by this constitution placed in the hands of the king. In 
1789, some alterations were made, but nothing could satisfy 
the party which had been put down, and in 1792, while the 
king was preparing to assist the unfortunate Louis XVI., he 
was assassinated at a masquerade, by a person employed by 
the malecontents. 

26. His son, Gustavus IV., a youth of fourteen years of 
age, succeeded to the throne. He was a prince of weak 
judgement, rash, and incapable of governing, and in 1809. 
he was forced to abdicate the crown. The duke of Suder- 
mania, uncle to Gustavus, was then chosen protector, and 
soon after king, by the name of Charles XIII.; but having 
no issue, left it to the nation to choose a successor. 

27. Bernadotte, one of Bonaparte's generals, was chosen 
by the states to succeed to the throne. He joined the confe- 
deracy against Napoleon, his old master, and was present at 
the battle of Leipsick. On the death of Charles XIII., in 
1818, he succeeded to the crown, and still reigns. By the 
treaty of Vienna, in 1815, Norway, in Europe, and Gauda- 
loupe, one of the West India islands, were given to Sweden, 

28. Five kings have occupied the throne of Denmark, 
since the close of tho seventeenth centurv. Christian VI. 



MODERN HISTORY. 137 

who came to the throne in 1730, was a monarch who gave 
great attention to the welfare of his subjects ; lightened their 
taxes, and encouraged trade and manufactures. In 1746, he 
was succeeded by Frederick V., his son, who imitated his fa- 
ther in promoting knowledge, manufactures, and commerce. 

29. Christian VII., succeeded Frederick. This king mar- 
ried Caroline Matilda, the sister of George III. of England. 
The principal event of his reign, was one which involved this 
princess in difficulty, and probably hastened her death. She 
was undoubtedly saved from the scaffold, by the spirited ex- 
ertions of the British minister ; and quitting Denmark, she 
retired into Germany, where she died, May 10, 1775, aged 
twenty-four. In the latter part of his life, Christian fell into 
a state of mental derangement, and his son, with the queen 
dowager, carried on the government as regents. 

30. Frederick VI. came to the throne, in 1788, just at the 
time that the revolutionary commotions were commencing in 
France. Yet, in the continental wars of 1788, and 1793, 
Denmark took no share ; but by joining the armed neutrality 
in 1808, she excited the resentment of Great Britain, which 
was manifested by sending a fleet under lord Nelson, to at- 
tack Copenhagen. By the treaty of Vienna, in 1815, Pen^ 
mark received Pomerahia, and the isle of Rugen, in exchange 
for Norway. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who was called to the throne of France on the abdication of 
Napoleon ? — 2. What was the feeling of the armies of France toward 
Napoleon? — 3. When did Napoleon land in France from Elba? — 4, 
When was fought the battle of Waterloo? — 5. When did Napoleon 
surrender himself into the hands of the English ?-— 6. What place was 
now assigned for the residence of Bonaparte ? — 7. What determina- 
tion did the allied commanders make in regard to to the works of art 
which the French had formerly taken from other countries ? — 8. What 
was left in France by the allies to secure the country from revolution? 
— 9. Who succeeded Catharine J. in Russia? — 10. What is said of the 
reign of Anne? — 11. Who succeeded her?— 12. What distinguished 
the reign of Elizabeth ? — 13. What is said of the reign of Peter III.?-** 
14. How long did Catharine II. reign? — 15. What is said of Paul I.? 
16. What happened, March 24, 1801 ?— 17. Of what age is Prussia as 
a kingdom ? — 18. Who came to the throne of Prussia in 1740 ? — 19. 
When did Frederick III. die?— 20. Who succeeded him?— 21. Who 
succeeded Charles XII. on the throne of Sweden? — 22. What factions 
agitated Sweden in the rejgn of Frederick 1 .?— 23. When did Adol-> 
phus Frederick come to the crown ? — 24. Who succeeded him ? — 25. 
what power did the constitution formed by Gustavus give to the king ? 



138 MODERN HISTORY. 

26. Who succeeded GustavuslII.?— 27. Who was chosen by the states 
of Sweden to succeed Charles XIII.? — 28. How many kings, since the 
J 7th century, have occupied the throne of Denmark ? — 29. Who suc- 
ceeded Frederick?-- -30. Who came tu the throne of Denmark, 1788 ? 

SECTION XXL 

SOUTHERN STATES OF EUROPE. INDIA. 

1. A dispute between the catholicks and the protestants. 
agitated Switzerland in the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. A convention, in 1717, however, by which an equality 
of religious rights was established, put a period to these dif- 
ferences, and from that time till the commencement of the 
French revolution, all the cantons remained tolerably quiet. 
In the towns of Geneva and Berne, however, some distur- 
bances arose, but the only effect produced at that time was, 
to induce some judicious reforms in the government. 

2. In 1798, the French first began to interfere in the affairs 
of Switzerland ; and the occasion was given them by the dis- 
putes in the Pays de Vaud, the gentry and citizens of which 
began to be clamorous for a change in the government. 
These disputes opened the way for the introduction of 
French troops, first under the directory, and then under Bo- 
naparte ; and from that period to the congress of Vienna, in 
1815, Switzerland cannot be said to have enjoyed repose 
even for a year. 

3. The power of the papal court of Rome has been con- 
stantly on the decline, since the close of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. The troubles of Europe, excited by the French revo- 
lution, extended to the papal dominions, and subjected the 
pontiffs to much inconvenience and mortification. When 
Bonaparte became emperor of the French, from motives of 
policy, he restored to the pope the shadow of authority, not 
only in France, but in the countries under French influence. 

4. Clement XIV., who filled the papal chair in 1773, after 
much deliberation suppressed the order of the Jesuits. Dying 
next year, suspicions were raised that he had been poisoned, 
but the body being opened in the presence of the French and 
Spanish ministers, the Jesuits were freed from the charge. 
This pontiff was of an amiable disposition, fond of literature, 
plain and simple in his manners, and much respected by for- 
eign nations. 



MODERN HISTORY. 130 

5. Pius VI., a descendant of the family of Cesena, was 
chosen to fill the papal throne, in 1775, contrary to the wish- 
es and intentions of most of the members of the conclave. 
Having risen to the supreme power in this manner, he acted 
more independent of the cardinals than any of his predeces- 
sors. In the year 1796, he began to be involved in the trou- 
bles of France, and in 1798, his government was overthown, 
and Rome was lost. Pius was forcibly removed from his 
capital, and compelled to reside first in Florence, then in 
Briancon, and lastly at Valence, where he died. 

6. In March 1800, a new pope was elected, who took the 
name of Pius VII. Soon after, he removed his court to Rome, 
which had been taken from the French by a British fleet under 
captain Trowbridge. In September, 1801, the pope con- 
cluded a concordat with Napoleon, who was then first consul, 
by which the catholick religion was re-established in France. 
This pope restored the order of the Jesuits, and the inquisition; 
measures which created some alarm at the time in Europe, but 
as he had the credit of being a man of sense, prudence and 
moderation, the fears which had been excited were allayed* 

7. The celebrated Aurungzebe occupied the throne of 
Delhi, in India, at the commencement of the eighteenth 
century. He seemed to posses the spirit of the great Timur, 
and lived to a great age, being nearly a hundred years old 
when he died. He succeeded in rendering almost the whole 
peninsula subject to his power, and ruled over all the coun- 
tries from the tenth to the thirty-fifth degree of latitude, and 
nearly as much in longitude. 

8. About the year 1717, the English East India company 
obtained the celebrated grant, by which their goods were 
freed from export and import duties. This has been regard- 
ed as their commercial charter in India ; and no other Euro- 
peans were indulged in a similar manner. At this time, such 
was the state of semi-barbarism in which India was involved, 
that in the short space of eleven years, five princes who 
had attained the throne, and six who were candidates for it, 
were assassinated. 

9. Nadir Shah, the celebrated Persian usurper, put an 
end to the power and glory of the Mogul empire in India, in 
1739. From that period, the subordinate states, princes, 
and viceroys, began to aspire to independence, and acquired 

<i consequence they before had not enjoyed ; the Mogul him- 



140 MODERN HISTORY, 

self possessing a mere nominal power. The disputes be 
tween these different powers, prepared the way for the inter- 
ference of Europeans in the affairs of India, about the middle 
of the eighteenth century. 

10. Lord Clive may justly be considered as the founder of 
the British empire in India. Under his conduct, the English 
found means to establish themselves in the peninsula, to the 
exclusion of all other Europeans, except for purely commer- 
cial purposes. Clive was the first who procured grants of 
territory and assignments of revenue for the company, which 
totally changed the character of the relations with India, and 
rendered even the Mogul subservient to the views of Britain. 

11. At the battle of Plassey, 1757, Clive succeeded in 
recovering Calcutta, and deposing the subardah, or govern- 
our, appointed one of his own generals in his room. He now 
obtained possession of all the effects and factories of the 
French, in Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa ; and levied a money 
contribution to the amount of ,£2,750,000 sterling. 

12. In 1773, and in 1784, the parliament of England, rou- 
sed to a sense of their duty by the report of wrongs commit- 
ted by the servants of the company, passed an act to prevent 
abuses of power in India. A board of control was appointed, 
with authority to check and restrain the civil and military 
government, and superintend the revenues of the company. 
The management of their commercial concerns was not ta- 
ken from them, however, only the political and civil authori- 
ty was transferred to the crown. At the same time, the Eng- 
lish system of jurisprudence was extended to India, but ow- 
ing to the difference of language, manners, habits, and cus- 
toms, it was under great disadvantages. Lord Comwallis, 
and Sir William Jones, were the first who attempted to carry 
the new system into effect. 

13. From the necessity of defending themselves against 
the designs of Hyder Ally, and his son, Tippoo Saib, the 
English found themselves obliged to depart from that system 
of neutrality and forbearance, which the act of parliament 
required. The result of the conflict thus commenced, was 
the total overthrow of the Mahomedan dynasty in the penin- 
sula of India, — the expulsion of the French from the east, 
and the full establishment of the English power. 

14. In order that the magistrates, judges, ambassadors, 
and governours of provinces, might be better qualified for the 



MODERN HIST6RY. 141 

discharge of their official duties, the East India College 
was established in Hertfordshire, England. Sir William 
Jones first proposed the plan, and designed that the college 
should be located in India ; but the company did not see fit to 
give their countenance to the whole project. Yet " good has 
been done — sources of useful knowledge" have been opened 
to the natives of India, which cannot be closed. 

15. In 1814, an ecclesiastical establishment was formed 
for India, and Dr. Thomas F. Middleton was consecrated 
first bishop of Calcutta. This event may very probably be 
traced to the representations made by the Rev. Claudius Bu- 
chanan, a chaplain in the service of the East India company, 
who personally inspected the moral desolations of India, and 
laid them open to the view of an enlightened publick. The 
British empire in India is supposed to contain a population of 
ninety millions. 

QUESTIONS. 

1, What agitated Switzerland in the beginning of the eighteenth 
century?— 2* When did the French first begin to interfere in the af- 
fairs of Switzerland? — 3. What is said of the power of the papal court 
since the close of the eighteenth century? — 4. Which of the popes sup- 
pressed the Jesuits, and when ? — 5. Who was chosen to fill the pa- 
pal throne in 1775? — 6. When was pope Pius VII. elected? — 7. Who 
occupied the throne of Delhi, in India, at the commencement of the 
eighteenth century ? — 8. When did the English obtain the celebrated 
grant freeing their goods from duties? — 9. Who put an end to the Mo- 
gul empire in India ? — 10. Who may be considered the founder of the 
British empire in India? — 11. At what battle did he recover Calcutta ? 
— 12. When did the parliament of England pass an act to prevent an 
abuse of power in India? — 13. Why did the English find themselves 
obliged to depart from their system of neutrality and forbearance ? — 
14. For what purpose was the East India College established ?— 15 
When was an ecclesiastical establishment formed for India ? 

SECTION XXII. 

ARTS. SCIENCES. LAWS. GOVERNMENT. 'RELIGION* 

1. Asia and Africa, during the eighteenth century, made 
little or no advances in knowledge and civilization. Once 
the nursery of the arts and sciences, but now in a semi-barba- 
rous state, they seem to have been overrun by ignorance and 
•despotism, and to have returned to their original condition* 
The vast empire of China makes no progress, and Japan ha? 
13 



142 MODERN HISTORY. 

shut the door upon all improvement. South America is ui 
the present time making considerable advance, but many 
circumstances in the state of the country are unfriendly to 
the progress of knowledge. 

2. Civilized Europe, and the United States of America, 
justly claim the credit of nearly all the progress which has 
been made in knowledge. Turkey, with all her dependan- 
ces, has stood nearly still ; Spain, Portugal, and the greater 
part of Italy, have been arrested in their progress by restric- 
tions and difficulties imposed by a variety of circumstances ; 
but the north and northeastern parts of Europe, have pro- 
duced many learned men, whose researches do honour to 
themselves, and their several countries. 

3. Chymistry, botany, electricity, galvanism, mineralogy > 
geology, and geography, are among the sciences which have 
been cultivated and improved since the commencement of 
the eighteenth century ; and some of them may be regarded 
as discovered since that period. Chymistry in particular, has 
undergone great changes, and is now a very different science 
from that which was cultivated previous to that time. Its 
leading principles have undergone an entire change ; the old 
theory of heat, light, and combustion, has been exploded, as 
well as that called the phlogistick system. 

4. In pneumatick chymistry, the new discoveries have 
been of the utmost importance. The discoveries in this branch 
of science, which has the air for its subject, are full of utility 
and interest. By analyzing the common atmosphere, a se- 
ries of physical operations constantly going on, have been 
opened to our view, equally wonderful and curious : such as 
the respiration of animals. The atmosphere is now well 
known to be a compound of two sorts of air, or gases ; one, 
capable of supporting life and flame, and the other, destruc- 
tive of both. The proportion of these two parts has been 
found to be twenty-two parts of pure or vital air, and seventy- 
eight of impure or azotic k gas. 

5. Dr. Priestly, a celebrated English chymist, first disco- 
vered vital air in 1774. Dr. Black, of Edinburgh, has gener- 
ally the credit of being the author of pneumatick chymistry. 
It has also been assigned to Dr. Priestly, Scheeie, and M- 
Lavoisier. But whoever may have been the author of the 
system, the discoveries made in consequence, form a grand 
efra in chymistry. Many different and curious gases havo 



MODERN HISTORY. 143 

been discovered ; new instruments to render experiments 
certain have been invented, by means of which, new com- 
pounds have been detected, and their operations and effects in 
almost every branch of physicks ascertained and fixed. 

6. The decomposition of water is one of the most extra- 
ordinary discoveries of pneumatick chymistry. Within less 
than half a century ago, water was esteemed an elementary 
principle ; but in the course of certain pneumatick experi- 
ments, Mr. Cavendish ascertained that water was a combi- 
nation of two particular gases, oxygen and hydrogen. The 
latter is the base or radical of water ; and the proportion be- 
tween the two, is eighty-five of oxygen, to fifteen of hydrogen. 

7. Sir Humphrey Davy, of England, was the inventor of 
the safety-lamp, a most important instrument, by means of 
which, the fatal effects of the fire-damp in coal mines are 
obviated, and probably thousands of lives saved. Davy was 
a most laborious chymist, and to him the world is indebted 
for some of the most remarkable discoveries which have been 
made under the new system. 

8. Linnaeus, born in Sweden, May 24, 1707, was the 
most celebrated botanist that has ever lived. Before he was 
twenty-one years old, he had made himself so well acquainted 
with plants, and with the defects of former systems of botany, 
as to lead him to conceive the idea of re-modelling the sci- 
ence, and of placing it on anew foundation, viz: the sexuality 
of vegetables. At first, his ideas were considered as vision- 
ary ; but by degrees they were received, and his system bore 
down all opposition, and met with universal reception. 

9. More than forty thousand species of plants are now 
known to botanists ; but still there are many regions of the 
earth which are unexplored, and there are " flowers without 
a name." It is worthy of remark also, that the arts of draw- 
ing, engraving, and colouring plants, so perfectly as to con- 
vey to the mind at all times and in all places accurate repre- 
sentations of the various productions of the vegetable king- 
dom, have made astonishing progress. No branch of know- 
ledge has furnished more splendid works of this nature than 
botany ; and in none have the above arts been carried to 
greater perfection. 

10. Dr. Franklin, a native of Boston, Massachusetts, in 
1752, first discovered that electrick fluid and lightning were 
the same, Mr. Hawksbee, of England, first wrote learnedly 



144 MODERN HISTORY, 

on the subject in 1709 ; and about twenty years after, M. dto 
Faye, at Paris, made some experiments which threw light up- 
on electrical science. In these experiments he was followed 
by Mr. Grey, who supposed electricity and lightning to pro* 
ceed from the same cause. Dr. Franklin proved this by a 
number of decisive experiments ; and as he always aimed to 
render his knowledge useful, he invented metalick conduc- 
tors, for the preservation of houses, ships, &c, during a 
storm. 

11. The celebrated Galvani, of Bologna, in 1791, disco- 
vered galvanism, or animal electricity, as it is sometimes 
called. M. Yolta, improving upon the discoveries of Galva- 
ni, conceived the plan of forming au instrument, since called 
a voltaick pile, or galvanick battery. This consists simply 
of metalick plates, or a set of different conductors, by means 
of which, the most interesting experiments are made, and the 
most astonishing results produced. 

12. Sir Humphrey Davy has particularly distinguished 
himself in electro-chymical researches. By his experiments 
on alkalis and earths, he has opened a wide field for investi- 
gation, and made it reasonable to suppose, that there is 
scarcely any substance in nature above or below the surface 
of the earth, which is not subject to electrical agency. Many 
useful instruments have been formed since the above disco- 
veries in electricity, or greatly improved; such as the barome- 
ter, thermometer, hydrometer, pluviameter, anemometer, and 
electrometer. 

13. Mineralogy and geology, toward the close of the se- 
venteenth century, began to be more cultivated. About the 
middle of the eighteenth century, the modern scientifick ar- 
rangement of minerals began to claim attention. Linnaeus, 
the celebrated botanist, paid much attention to this branch of 
natural science, and published in 1768, a systematick ar- 
rangement of minerals, rocks, and fossils. 

14. Geology is an inquiry into the structure of the earth, 
and has arisen out of mineralogy. Modern geologists have 
chiefly confined themselves to the study of the changes which 
the earth has undergone since its formation, in order to un- 
derstand the course of the revolutions which have taken place. 
Many very singular circumstances have been developed in 
ihe progress of this science : among which are the extensive 
operations of fire and water ; the extinction of many specirs 



MODERN HISTORY. 145 

of plants and animals ; the very remarkable preservation of 
some of the latter in a frozen state ; the remains of animals 
in places where the species no longer exists, and the entire 
absence of human remains. 

15. Two new quarters of the world, Australasia and Po- 
lynesia, have, according to the French geographers, been 
presented to the world since the close of the seventeenth cen- 
tury. Geography, since that period, may be regarded as al- 
most a new science, not only because of the above discove- 
ries, but because almost every part of the earth has been ex- 
plored, and great additions made to our previous knowledge 
of its parts. 

16. The Copernican and Newtonian systems of astrono- 
my, have not undergone any material change during the last 
and present centuries. All the change which has been effect- 
ed, is by additions made to the two systems ; and these are 
so few as to be easily enumerated. Five new planets have 
been added to the solar system, and our knowledge concern- 
ing the celestial regions is much enlarged. Among the dis- 
tinguished individuals who have devoted their talents to astro- 
nomical science, Sir William Herschel may be placed in the 
first rank. He discovered a new planet, Georgium Sidus, in 
1781, and its satellites, in 1782. 

17. From late discoveries and observations, it is now gen- 
erally conceded that the sun is not what formerly it was sup- 
posed to be, a body of fire. Some late astronomers have 
advanced the idea that the sun is inhabited. In regard to the 
via lactea, or milky-way, Herschel made some very great ad* 
ditions to our former knowledge. By means of his instru- 
ments, he discovered, that in the short space of forty-one 
minutes, two hundred and eighty thousand stars in the milky- 
way, passed through the field of view of his telescope. He 
also discovered many new stars ; some double, some triple, 
and some, what he calls changing stars. 

18. The celebrated Bayle, a French writer in the last 
century, did much to unsettle the minds of his countrymen in 
regard to politicks and religion. But the seeds which Bayle 
had sown, did not come to maturity, till Voltaire, by visiting 
England, became acquainted with the philosophy of Newton 
and Locke, and saw some of the political principles of the 
latter reduced to practice. When Voltaire returned to his 
own country, he quickly disseminated his deistical and revo- 

13* 



146 MODERN HISTORY. 

lutionary sentiments, in which work, he unhappily found bii 
too many coadjutors. 

19. Shaftesbury, Wolston, Collins, Toland, Tindal, and 
some others in England, bold in deism and impiety, in the 
eighteenth century, attacked revelation with all the powers 
of their great minds, and either openly or secretly, laboured 
to instill their principles into the minds of their countrymen. 
But all their exertions produced no great effect, and the pub- 
lick generally were but little moved by their writings. 

20. Newton, Locke, Addison, Steele, Clarke, &c, men 
of superiour talents, superiour learning, and superiour credit, 
defended the truths of revealed religion against the attacks 
of the infidels. They were successful in supporting the out- 
posts of Christianity, and turning aside the shafts of ridicule ; 
and by means of such periodical papers as the Spectator, 
Guardian, Tattler, &c, they succeeded in rescuing the 
young from the influence of evil examples, and false prin- 
ciples. 

21. Montesquieu, another celebrated French writer, visited 
England about the same time that Voltaire did. The great 
object of his researches appears to have been, to ascertain 
the spirit of the English laws, and the leading principles of 
the British constitution. To the effects of his work, entitled 
" The Spirit of the Laws," may be traced the remonstran- 
ces of the French parliament, and the high tone which they 
assumed as the representatives of the people. But though 
the principles diffused by Voltaire and Montesquieu, were 
no doubt productive of the French revolution, yet neither 
of these philosophers were republicans. Indeed, they de- 
spised and ridiculed the populace. 

22. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries have been 
distinguished by the invention of steam-boats 9 and steam-en- 
gines ; printing of linen and cotton cloths; paper for rooms ; 
spinning machines; stereotype printing; lithographick engrav- 
ing, and many other interesting things, too numerous to men- 
tion. Labour-saving machines have multiplied to a very 
great degree, by which the comforts of life, and many of its 
luxuries, are placed within the reach of a large proportion of 
the community. 

23. Laws and government have been advancing toward a 
greater degree of perfection, during the eighteenth and nine- 
teenth centuries. The French revolution opened the oyes 



MODERN HISTORY. 147 

of men to ancient abuses, but as it induced all the evils of an- 
archy and misrule, it did not accomplish so much for real 
liberty as was wished and expected. Hitherto, its effects on 
the continent of Europe have been partial, and apparently of 
little importance toward meliorating the condition of the 
people. 

24. As respects religion, paganism continues to prevail 
over the greater part of Asia, Africa, and the islands in the 
Southern Pacifick, as well as among the Indians of North and 
South America. Since the commencement of the nineteenth 
century, many attempts to Christianize pagan nations have 
been made by different religious societies, and not without 
a considerable degree of success. In these attempts, Eng- 
land and America have taken a conspicuous place, and many 
thousands of dollars are annually expended by the benevo- 
lent societies in those countries, for the melioration of the 
condition of mankind. 

25. In Persia, Arabia, Egypt, the Barbary states, Syria ? 
Turkey, and some portions of India, Mahometanism is the 
prevailing religion. The Jews continue dispersed among all 
nations ; and while they are still " a proverb and a by-word," 
according to divine prediction, they are in a far better condi- 
tion than in the 17th and 18th centuries. In some countries, 
they have obtained important privileges, and in Europe they 
are no where exposed to oppression and persecution. In 
Abyssima, the majority of the people are said to be Christians, 
though exceedingly corrupt in faith and practice. 

QUESTIONS. 

I. What countries made little or no advances in knowledge and ci- 
vilization during the 18th century ? — 2. What countries claim the 
credit of nearly all the progress which has yet been made in know- 
ledge? — 3. What particular sciences have been cultivated and impro- 
ved since the commencement of the 18th century ?~ 4. In what have 
the new discoveries been of the utmost importance ? — 5. Who disco- 
vered vital air in 1774? — 6. What is one of the most extraordinary 
discoveries of pneumatick chymistry ? — 7. Who invented the safety 
lamp ?~8. Who was the most celebrated botanist that ever lived ? — 
9. How many species of plants are known to botanists ?~ 10. Who 
discovered the electrick fluid, and lightning to be the same? — 11. 
Who discovered Galvanism? — 12. Who particularly distinguished 
himself in electro-chymical researches ? — 13. What sciences began to 
be more cultivated toward the close of the 17th century ?— 14.. What 
is geology ?— 15. What two new quarters of the world have been dis*. 



146 MODERN HISTORY. 

covered since the close of the seventeenth century ? — 16. What is saiti 
of the Copernican and Newtonian systems of Astronomy ? — 17. What 
is now conceded respecting the sun, in consequence of late discove- 
ries ? — 18. Who did much to unsettle the minds of his countrymen in 
regard to politicks and religion ? — 19. What infidel writers attacked 
revelation in the eighteenth century ?— 20. What writers defended the 
truths of revealed religion? — 21. What distinguished French writer 
visited England about the same time with Voltaire ? — 22. What arc 
some of the inventions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries? — 
23. What is said of laws and government in the eighteenth and nine- 
teenth centuries ?— 24. Over a greater part of what countries does 
Paganism prevail ?— 25. In what countries is Mahometanism the pre 
railing religion ? 



fARf XXX. 

AMERICAN HISTORY. 



SECTION I. 

ABORIGINAL AMERICA. LANGUAGE. MANNERS. CUSTOMS, 

1. From the northeast part of Asia, the first inhabitants* 
of America probably emigrated. The coasts of the two 
continents, in latitude 66°, approach near to each other, and 
two islands lie about twenty miles from either shore, so that 
the passage from one continent to the other is by no means 
difficult or dangerous. The tribes of Indians on the northwest 
coast of America, and the wandering tribes on the northeast 
coast of Asia, bear so strong a resemblance to each other, as 
to make the idea of a common origin very probable. 

2. Traditionary record furnishes all the information that 
the civilized world has of the aborigines of America. They 
possessed no books or manuscripts, and were destitute of 
the knowledge of letters. In some instances, however, they 
had advanced so far toward writing, as to use hieroglyphicks; 
and in others, certain symbols or signs were used to con- 
vey intelligence, or perpetuate events, Thus : a bundle of 
arrows sent from one tribe to another, denoted a declaration 
of war ; and a string of wampum so sent, was expressive of 
a desire for peace. 

3. The Delawares, or Lenni Lenape, according to tradi- 
tion, emigrated from the western part of America, to the east- 
ern. After travelling a great distance, they came to the banks 
of the great river Namtesi Sipu, or Mississippi, where they 
met with another powerful people, the Mengwe, or Iroquois, 
who, emigrating from a far distant country in the north, rea- 
ched the same river nearer to its source. 

4. The Alligewi, a powerful nation, possessed the territo- 
ry east of the Mississippi, and, according to tradition, had ma- 
ny large towns. From this tribe the Allegany river and moun* 



150 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

tains are probably called. The Delawares desiring permis- 
sion to pass through the country of the Alligewi, and being 
refused, determined to force their way, and united with the 
Iroquois. The Alligewi fortified their towns, and made a 
stout resistance. Many were slain, and according to tradi- 
tion, they were buried in holes, or laid in heaps, and covered 
with earth. The Alligewi being overcome, fled down the 
Mississippi, and returned no more. 

5. The country around the Lakes fell to the share of the 
Iroquois ; and from thence, they extended themselves 
along the valleys which are formed by their tributary streams. 
The island of Montreal was the original seat of the Iroquois ; 
and in process of time, the different tribes united in forming 
what was termed by the English, " The confederacy of the 
Five Nations." The nations or tribes of the confederacy, 
originally consisted of the Senecas, Onondagas, Mohawks, 
Cayugas, and Oneidas, The three first were called the el- 
der, and the two last the younger tribes. The Tuscaroras 
emigrated from North Carolina, and joined the confederacy 
more recently, and therefore it is now called the confederacy 
of the Six Nations. 

6. New-England and the southern states, were possessed 
by the Delawares and their descendants, and the Delaware 
river was the seat of their government. The Mohicans, and 
all the tribes inhabiting New-England, acknowledged the 
Delawares as their ancestors ; or, in their figurative language, 
as their grandfather ; and in process of time, the latter en- 
larged their council-house, and admitted their grandchildren 
to their council-fire. 

7. The Hurons were conquered by the Iroquois. These, 
according to tradition, were the only people on the eastern 
coast of the continent who were not descended from the Men- 
gwe, or Lenape. The Hurons being driven from their coun- 
try by the Iroquois, fled to the place where the French built 
Quebec. At length, disputes arose between the Delawares 
and the Iroquois, and a war ensuing, the sovereignty of the 
latter was established. When Capt. Smith first arrived in 
Virginia, this war was still raging ; and from the Delawares 
he first heard of the Iroquois. 

8. The Powhattans were the chief of the tribes of Virgin- 
ia, between the sea and the falls of the rivers. Forty tribes 
occupied the country between the Potomack and James ri 



AMERICAN HISTORY, 15! 

vers ; and of these, thirty tribes were united in one confede- 
racy. Powhattan was the great chief or sachem of the coun- 
try. The seat of his government was on the south side of 
James river, about a mile below the rapids ; but soon after 
the English settled at Jamestown, he removed to the river 
Chickahominy. 

9. The Tuscaroras were the chief of the thirteen tribes of 
North Carolina. They were settled on the Roanoke river, 
and were a powerful tribe. But attempting to massacre the 
English, who were settled in the north part of Carolina, they 
were attacked, and most of them destroyed. Those who 
escaped, fled to the north, and were admitted into a confede- 
racy of the Five Nations. The Indians of Cape Hatteras 
reported that their ancestors were white people ; and this is 
probably true, as many of them had gray eyes. From this 
circumstance, it has been conjectured that Sir Walter Ra- 
leigh's people, who were lost in Virginia, removed to the cape, 
and became incorporated with the Indians. 

10. Eight considerable tribes inhabited South Carolina, 
The Stonoes were situated on the Stono river ; the Westoes 
dwelt near where Charleston is now situated ; the Catawbas 
lived on and near the Catawba river. The Cherokees exten^ 
ded their limits into the present state of Tennessee, and as far 
as Eutau Springs. The Congarees dwelt on the Congaree ri- 
ver, and the Yamasees were seated south of Charleston, not far 
from Savannah. The latter were at length expelled the prov- 
ince, and fleeing into Florida, took refuge among the Spaniards, 

1 1 . The Muskogee, or Creek Indians, possessed Georgia, 
and were so called from the circumstance of their country 
abounding in creeks. The nation was divided into three di- 
visions : The Upper and Lower Creeks, and the Seminoles. 
Their principal settlements were on the Flint, Chatahochy, 
Coosa, and Talapoosy rivers. Seminole means wild, and 
was a term of contempt applied by the Creeks to all the vaga- 
bonds of their nation. The remnant of the Seminoles are now 
located near Spirito Santo Bay, in Florida. The Choctaws 
lived between the Tombigby and Mississippi rivers ; the 
Chickasaws possessed the country lying between the Ohio on 
the north, Tennessee on the east, the Choctaw country on the 
south, and the Mississippi on the west. The three last named 
tribes are, at this time, considerably advanced in the arts of 
civilized life. 



152 AMERICAN HISTORY, 

12. Five principal tribes possessed the southern parts of 
New-England. These were the Pautuckets, on the Merri- 
mack river ; the Massachusetts, on the bay of that name ; 
the Pokanockets, possessing the country around Cape Cod. 
and the eastern part of Rhpde -Island ; the Narragansetts, 
.seated around a bay still bearing that name ; and the Pequots, 
dwelling near the mouth of the river Thames, in Connecticut 
Just before the landing of the English at Plymouth, a fa- 
tal epidemick swept away thousands of the New-England 
Indians ; and in some instances, whole tribes in Massachu- 
setts were destroyed. 

13. The language of the American Indians abounds in 
natural sounds, but is deficient in copiousness. As, howev- 
er, it is rich in metaphor and allusion, it is peculiarly effectual 
in the mouths of their orators to excite passion, and to stim- 
ulate revenge. The language of the Iroquois is said to excel 
in pathos and energy, and in this respect, to bear some re- 
semblance to the Greek. That of the Cherokees is said to 
be peculiarly sweet as well as rich, and may be considered as 
the Italian of America. 

14. The skins of the moose, deer, fox, bear, and other 
animals, formed the dress of the Indians. Their desire of 
what they considered as ornamental was excessive ; and they 
painted their bodies with various gaudy colours, dressing their 
hair with much art. In their ears and noses they wore glitte- 
ring stones and shells, or small pieces of gold ; but in these 
ornaments they seemed to have more regard to the terrours 
of war, than to the embellishments of society. The love of 
ornament was confined almost exclusively to the males, and 
the dress of the women was very simple. 

15. Hunting and fishing furnished the Indians with most 
of their food. Agriculture was but little practised; maize, 
beans, pumpkins, and squashes, being the only things culti- 
vated. The former, after being parched, was pounded into 
a course meal, which, moistened with a little water, formed 
at times an important article of food. They used knives 
made of bone or flint ; mats served them for repose when 
weary, or at night ; while for pounding their corn, stone mor- 
tars were in use. In forming their canoes, their greatest in- 
genuity was exercised. These consisted either of the trunks 
of trees hollowed by fire, or of birch bark sewed together 
wd strengthened by a light frame of cedar. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 153 

16. The government of the Indians was patriarchal. Eve- 
ry family or town had a sachem : several families or towns 
constituted a tribe, and each tribe had a chief. Several tribes 
formed a nation, and a chief was appointed to preside over 
the whole. The chiefs or sachems had no power to enforce 
obedience ; nor was it necessary. Their reputation for wis- 
dom and integrity secured a cheerful acquiescence in their 
wishes. The chief men of a town or a family settled all 
matters relative to that town or family ; those of a tribe, as- 
sisted by the chiefs of towns, assembled in council, attended 
to the affairs of the tribe ; while all things relative to the na- 
tion were decided in a national council, consisting of the 
chiefs of tribes, assisted by the chief warriours and sachems 
of towns or families. 

17. The Indians treated their women rather as slaves than 
companions. The contract of marriage was really a purchase, 
and as such the Indians considered it. The most servile and 
laborious services were apportioned to the females ; they tilled 
the earth, procured wood and water, dressed the food, carried 
the baggage when they removed, and on the slightest provo- 
cation were severely beaten. It may be remarked, however, 
that some tribes, on affairs of much importance, were accus- 
tomed to consult their women, and paid great attention to 
their opinion. 

18. The Indian weapons of war and of the chase, were a 
bow and arrows, a tomahawk, and a spear. The chief ob- 
ject of the Indian was military renown. The young Indian 
was early taught to use his weapons, and to hunt the buffalo 
and the deer. By attention to these pursuits, he became 
inured to hardships and toil, and in process of time he was 
led to use his arms and skill against his enemies. The Indi- 
ans seldom gave quarter in battle ; when prisoners were ta- 
ken, they were put to death with the most excruciating tor- 
ture. But let their sufferings be ever so great, no complaint 
escaped their lips ; they would even taunt their tormentors, 
and sing their death-song with an air of triumph. 

19. Small shells or beads of various colours, strung on 
belts or in chains, formed the money of the Indians. These 
belts or chains were called wampum, and were used in 
every treaty. On such occasions, each party held one of 
the ends of the belt, and these ends were formed of black 
beads or shells, while white ones were placed in the middle, 

14 



154 AMERICAN HISTORY. 



am- 



signifying that the parties were destitute of feelings of 
mosity or hatred. 

20. The religion of the Indians was pagan. They be- 
lieved in the existence of a good and evil spirit, both equal in 
power. The one was worshipped to secure his favour ; the 
other to avert his vengeance. The natives had no idea of a 
future existence entirely spiritual, but believed that their de- 
parted friends dwelt in a land where they enjoyed a cloudless 
sky, and where the forests were plentifully stocked with game 
of every kind, and the rivers with fish. To their bravest war- 
riours was assigned the first place in their Elysium, and to their 
most successful hunters the same rank was allotted. The 
hatchet and other implements of warfare, together with veni- 
son and maize, were buried with their deceased friends, that 
they might not want in the other world. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. From whence did the nrst inhabitants of America emigrate? 
—2. What furnishes all the knowledge we have of the aborigines ot 
America? — 3. Who emigrated from the western to the eastern parts 
of America? — 4. Who at that time possessed the country east of the 
Mississippi ?— 5. What part of the country fell to the share of the Iro- 
quois ? — 6. What part fell to the Delawares ? — 7. What nation did the 
Iroquois conquer ? — 8. What was the chief tribe of Virginia ? — 9 
What was the chief tribe of North Carolina? — 10. How many tribes 
inhabited South Carolina? — 11. Who possessed Georgia ? — 12. How 
many tribes possessed the southern parts of New-England ? — 13. What 
is said of the language of the American Indians ? — 14. What formed 
the dress of the Indians ? — 15. What furnished the Indians with most 
of their food ?— 16. What was the government of the Indians ? — 17. 
How did the Indians treat their women ? — 18, What were the Indian 
weapons of war and of the chase? — 19. What formed the money of 
the Indians ? — 20. What was the religion of the Indians? 

SECTION II. 

DISCOVERY OF AMERICA BY COLUMBUS. DISCOVERIES BI 
OTHER ADVENTURERS. LONDON COMPANY. PLYMOUTH 

COMPANY. 

1. That all countries inhabited by savages, should belong 
to the nation who first discovered them, was a principle early 
adopted in Europe, and sanctioned by the pope. One mort 
unjust or absurd can hardly be conceived. On this princi- 
ple, a stranger passing through a country, might claim and 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 155 

lake possession of any valuable estate with which he might 
chance to meet, simply because he had not before known 
such an estate existed. In the application of the above 
principle, England, France, and Spain, first founded their 
claim to different parts of America. 

2. The Welsh, Norwegians, and Germans, have each in 
their turn claimed the honour of having first discovered Amer- 
ica. As yet, however, their claims have not heen supported 
by sufficient evidence ; and the traditions on the authority of 
which their claim rests, are confused, unsatisfactory, and 
vague. At the time America was discovered, the darkness 
of the feudal ages was beginning to pass away from Europe, 
and science to scatter here and there a ray to penetrate the 
gloom. A spirit of adventure was arising, and in some in- 
stances the attempts at discovery were successful. In these 
attempts the Portuguese took the lead. 

3. Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, first formed 
the design of seeking new countries in the west. At the time 
of forming his scheme, the great object of discovery in Eu- 
rope was, to find a passage to the East Indies by sea. As 
the globularity of the earth was known, it seemed obvious, 
that the desired end might be sooner attained by sailing west, 
than in any other course. To find this shorter and more di- 
rect rout to India, appears to have been one end, if not the 
immediate object, of the first voyage of discovery made by 
Columbus. 

4. Genoa, Portugal, Spain, and England, were succes- 
sively applied to for assistance ; but the monarchs of those 
days had not sufficient comprehension to understand the 
schemes of Columbus. Many considered him as a visiona- 
ry, and his plans as the dreams of a disturbed imagination ; 
some rejected him and his plans because he was a man in 
low condition ; while the learned repelled his shemes, because 
an obscure seaman had discovered that which they had over- 
looked. 

5. Isabella, the queen of Ferdinand, king of Spain, at 
length ventured to patronize the adventure. At her expense, 
three small vessels were fitted out, and on the 3d of August, 
1492, Columbus sailed from Palos in Spain, to test the truth 
or falsity of his scheme. He arrived at the Canary islands 
without accident, and there refitting his crazy and ill-appoint- 
ed flotilla, boldly ventured into an unknown ocean. His 



156 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

course was due west ; but after sailing some days, he found 
that the magnetick needle varied from the pole, a discovery 
which filled his crews with consternation. 

6. On the night of the 11th of October, 1492, land was 
first discovered. In the morning all the boats were manned, 
and the Spaniards rowed toward the shore with colours dis- 
played. Columbus was the first European who set foot in 
the new world. His men followed, and kneeling, kissed the 
ground ; while Columbus, planting a crucifix, took formal 
possession in the name of Ferdinand and Isabella. The 
island thus discovered, was called by the natives Guanahana ; 
but Columbus named it St. Salvador. It is one of the clus- 
ter called Bahama, and lies more than three thousand miles 
west of Gomera, the port in the Canaries from whence he 

\^ sailed, but only four degrees south of it. 

7. On the 4th of January, 1493, Columbus having erect- 
ed a fort, and left a party of men on the island of Hayti, sel 
sail for Europe. A violent storm overtook him on his return, 
by which the important discoveries he had made were near 
being buried in the ocean. The storm however abated, and 
he arrived safe at Palos, from whence he proceeded to court, 
where he was received with distinguished honours. From the 
similarity of the productions, the newly discovered islands 
were supposed to belong to Asia, and lying west of the meri- 
dian of London, they were called West Indies, and the abo- 
rigines, Indians. 

8. In 1498, Columbus made his third voyage, and disco- 
vered the continent, and landed at several places in the pro- 
vinces of Paria and Cumana. On his return from his fourth 
voyage, he found his friend and patroness, queen Isabella, 
dead, his enemies at the court numerous and powerful, and 
sinking under his misfortunes and infirmities, died at Valla - 
dolid on the 20th of May, 1506, in the 57th year of his age. 
The court of Spain erected a monument to his memory. 

9. Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine, in 1499. went on a 
voyage to the new continent, and on his return, having pub- 
lished an account of the country, mankind, with one consent, 
united in calling it by his name ; thus robbing Columbus of a 
part of that honour which was justly his due. On the 20th 
of November, 1497, Vasco de Gama, sailing in the service 
of the Portuguese, first doubled the cape of Good Hope, thus 
opening a way to the East Indies. Thenty-three years after 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 15T 

ilie discovery of America, Magellan reached the Pacifick 
ocean, by sailing through the strait which bears his name. 

10. The English were the second nation which visited 
the new continent. John and Sebastian Cabot, sailing under 
the patronage of Henry VII. of England, in 1497, discover* 
ed Newfoundland, and called it Prima Vista. They also 
discovered the island of St. Johns. After sailing north as 
far as 56° they returned, and pursuing a southwesterly course,, 
traced the continent as far as Florida, and returned to Eng- 
land without attempting to make any settlement. The 
French made no discoveries in the new world till 1512. 
That year, John Verrazano explored the coast from the thir- 
tieth to the fiftieth degree of latitude. 

11. In 1534 or '5, the gulf and river of St. Lawrence was 
discovered by James Cartier, sailing in the service of France. 
After discovering the Baye de Chakur, and entering the river 
St. Lawrence, he returned to France, without attempting a 
settlement. The next year he returned, and sailing up the 
river, reached the isle of Orleans. Continuing his course, 
he came to the island of Montreal, then the resort of all the 
Indians of Canada. Returning, he spent the winter at the isle 
of Orleans, and built a fort. He gave the country the name 
of New France, which was afterward changed to Canada. 

12. Four years after the discovery of the St. Lawrence, 
the Mississippi was partially explored. Ferdinand de Soto, set 
out in 1539, from Cuba, in search of gold. Passing through 
the Chickasaw country, he reached the Mississippi twelve 
hundred miles from its mouth, and penetrating still westward, 
reached the Red river, where he died. His troops returning 
to the Mississippi, built vessels, and sailing down the river, 
arrived at Cuba in 1543. 

13. In 1540, the first settlement was made in Canada, 
Francis de la Roque, being appointed viceroy of the country, 
sent out several ships under the command of Cartier, and fol- 
lowed in 1542 with three ships and two hundred settlers. 
Proceeding up the St. Lawrence four leagues beyond the 
isle of Orleans, he built a fort and stayed during the winter. 
When he returned to France is not known, but in 1549, he 
Ttgain embarked for Canada, with his brother and many ad- 
venturers, but they were never afterward heard of, and proba- 
bly perished at sea. The settlers in Canada received no more 
md from their countrymen for fifty years. 

14* 



158 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

14. The religious wars by which France was distracted, 
induced Jasper Cologni, one of the principal protestant com- 
manders, to attempt, in 1562, the planting of a colony in 
America. Two ships were accordingly sent out under John 
Ribault, who discovered the river Albemarle, and eight others 
in that neighbourhood. Sailing up one of these, which he 
called Port Royal, he built a fort and left it under the command 
of captain Albert. In consequence of his severity, the colo- 
ny was ruined ; but two years after, Laudonier was sent out 
with three ships to the river St. Mary, where he built a fort, and 
called it Carolina, in honour of Charles IX., king of France, 

15. In 1565, the Spaniards from Cuba attacked the 
French on the St. Mary, and massacring them all, took pos- 
session of the country, and erected three forts. Three years 
after, the French crossed the Atlantick, determined to avenge 
the death of their countrymen, and attacking the Spanish set- 
tlements in Florida, put most of the men to death, and re- 
embarked for France. These untoward events discouraged 
both nations, and for a century the country was left a howling 
wilderness. 

16. Sir Humphrey Gilbert conducted the first English co- 
lony to America. In 1 578, queen Elizabeth, by patent, granted 
to him all the lands he should discover between the thirty- 
third and the fortieth degrees of north latitude. He soon 
collected associates and embarked on his enterprise ; but his 
attempts were not crowned with success. In 1583, after 
having taken possession of Newfoundland, on his return to 
England, he was shipwrecked and perished. 

17. Sir Walter Raleigh, not discouraged by the ill success 
of Gilbert, who was his brother-in-law, in 1584, applied for 
and obtained a patent, giving him powers as ample as those 
given Sir Humphrey. Under this patent, two vessels were 
despatched, the commanders of which, avoiding the errour of 
Gilbert in going too far north, took their course so as to ap- 
proach the continent by the gulf of Florida. Coasting north- 
wardly, they first landed at an island near Pamlico sound, 
and then proceeded to Roanoke, and in both instances had 
some traffick with the Indians. Returning to England, they 
gave such a description of the country, and the mildness of 
the climate, that Elizabeth gave it the name of Virginia. 

18. In 1585, Sir Richard Grenville was sent by Raleigh, 
with a squadron of seven ships, and left a colony on the is!- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 159 

and of Roanoke. This colony was reduced to great extre- 
mity by famine, and in June of the same year, Sir Francis 
Drake, returning from a successful expedition against the 
Spanish West Indies, took the colonists and carried them to 
England. A few days after the departure of Drake, a small 
vessel sent by Raleigh, touched at Roanoke, but not finding 
the colony, returned home. Soon after, Grenville appeared 
with three ships, but after searching in vain for the colony, 
and leaving fifteen men to keep possession of the island, he 
also departed for England. 

19. The London company was formed about this time, 
and Raleigh, discouraged by his ill success in colonizing, was 
easily induced to sell to that company, all his right of proper- 
ty in America, and all the privileges granted by his patent. 
This company made no attempt to colonize, but were satis- 
fied with a paltry traffick with the natives. 

20. Cape Cod was discovered in 1602, by Bartholomew 
Gosnold. He was the first navigator who sailed due west 
from England to America ; all his predecessors having pur- 
sued a circuitous course by the West Indies, and the gulf of 
Florida. Following the coast toward the south west he dis- 
covered Martha's Vineyard, and the other Elizabeth islands. 
He returned to England in something less than four months 
from the time of his departure, having made the quickest voy- 
age to America at that time known. 

21. In 1803, the French king granted to De Monts, a pa- 
tent of all the country between the fortieth and forty-sixth 
degree of north latitude. In 1604, De Monts sailed from 
France, with one Samuel Champlain for his pilot, and disco- 
vered Port Royal, St. Johns, and St. Croix, on all of which 
he commenced settlements. Champlain was afterward 
drowned, while exploring the lake which bears his name. 

22. In 1606, king James I. of England, divided the coun- 
try lying between the thirty-fourth and the forty-fifth degrees 
of north latitude into two nearly equal portions ; one was 
called North and the other South Virginia. The latter was 
given to the London company, and the former to the Ply- 
mouth. The London company's limits extended from the 
thirty-fourth to the forty-first degree ; the remainder was as- 
signed to the Plymouth company. 

23. In 1607, the Plymouth company sent out admiral Gil- 
bert, with one hundred planters. Captain George Popharo 



160 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

was appointed president. They landed at Kennebeck river. 
where forty-five men were left to begin a settlement. The 
rest returned home. Those that were left suilered extreme- 
ly daring the winter, losing their store-house by fire, and their 
president by death ; and being discouraged uy these unto- 
ward events as well as the severity of the climate, the next 
year they too returned to England. Thus, after the lapse of 
one hundred and ten years from Cabot's discovery of North 
America, not a single Englishman was settled in the country. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What principle was early adopted in Europe and sanctioned by 
the Pope?— 2. What nations have claimed the honour of discovering 
America ? — 3. Who first conceived the design of seeking a new conti- 
nent in the west? — 4. To what countries did he successively apply for 
assistance ? — 5. Who at length ventured to patronize him ? — 6. When 
did he first discover land? — 7. When did he set sail for Europe ? — 8, 
When did Columbus discover the continent? — 9. Fiom whom does 
America derive its name ? — 10. Who were the second nation that vis- 
ited the new world ? — 11. When did James Ca : tier discover the gulf and 
river of St. Lawrence? — 12 How long after the discovery of the St. 
Lawrence, was the Mississippi partially explored ? — 13. Where was 
the first settlement made in Canada ? — 14. What induced Jasper Co- 
logni to attempt the settling of a colony in America in 1562? — 15. 
What happened to the French at St. Mary's in 1565 ? — 16. Who con- 
ducted the first English colony to America? — 17- Who obtained a 
patent in 1584? — 18. When did Sir Richard Grenville leave a colony 
at Roanoke? — 19. What company was formed about this time to which 
Raleigh sold his right ?— 20. What did Bartholomew Gosnold discover 
in 1602 ? — 21. When did the French king grant a patent to De Monls'l 
—22. What did James I. of England do in 1606?— 23. When did the 
Plymouth company send out planters ? 

SECTION III. 

COLONY OF VIRGINIA. SETTLEMENT OF THE DUTCH. LAND* 
ING OF THE PURITANS. NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERACY. 

1. Capt. Christopher Newport in 1607, discovered Chesa- 
peake Bay. He was sent out by the London company with 
three ships, and 105 men, and reached the American coast by 
♦he old rout, the West Indies, but being driven northward, ac- 
cidentally discovered cape Henry, and entered the bay. He 
then sailed up the river of the Powhattans, giving it the name of 
James river, and forty miles from its mouth selected a place 
for settlement, which was afterward called Jamestown, and 
the first which was formed by the English in America. 



AMERICAN HISTORY, 161 

2. Indian hostilities, famine, and disease, caused much suf- 
fering to the colonists. The Indians were numerous and 
powerful, and though they made no united and vigorous at- 
tack, still they greatly distressed them by a petty warfare. 
The stock of provisions brought from England was soon 
almost exhausted, and what remained was of so bad a quality 
as to be unfit to eat. This scantiness of provision, and its 
quality, together with the influence of a climate to which the 
colonists were unaccustomed, soon produced diseases among 
them, so that their number rapidly diminished. 

3. Capt. John Smith, a man more distinguished for talent 
and activity than any of the early settlers of America, relieved 
them by his courage and prudence, from the difficulties un- 
der which they laboured. On the first arrival of the settlers. 
Smith had been excluded from the council, though chosen to 
it by the king himself, but he was now unanimously invited 
to his seat, and accordingly took a chief part in the adminis- 
tration. Jamestown was fortified sufficiently to protect it 
from the attacks of the Indians, with whom, partly by force, 
and partly by address, he made peace, and thus succeeded in 
procuring from them a supply of provisions for the colony. 

4. While on an excursion to discover the sources of the 
Chickahominy, Smith was surprised and taken prisoner by 
the Indians. By his captors he was led in triumph through 
the country, and at last conducted to Powhattan, the chief of 
all the tribes on James river and its branches. Being by him 
sentenced to die, he bowed his head to receive the fatal blow, 
when Pocahontas, the youngest daughter of Powhattan, by 
her prayers and tears prevailed on her father to spare his life. 
She soon after procured his liberty , and after a captivity of 
seven weeks, he arrived at Jamestown, within the walls of 
which he found only thirty-eight persons remaining. Not- 
withstanding the spirits of the colony were broken, he per- 
suaded them to remain in the country, and supplies soon af- 
ter arriving from England, prosperity was again restored. 

5. In 1609, Henry Hudson, sailing in the service of the 
Dutch; entered the river called by his name. This discover 
ry was the origin of the Dutch claim in this part of the coun- 
try. The year before the discovery of Hudson, Samuel 
Champlain, in the French service, wishing to secure the 
friendship of the savages around Quebec, went on an expedi- 
tion to aid them in a war, which they were then carrying on 



162 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

with the Iroquois. On this expedition he traversed lake 
Champlain, till near its junction with lake George. Here, 
near Ticonderoga, the hostile parties had a battle, in which 
the Iroquois were defeated. 

6. A new charter was granted to the colony at Jamestown 
in 1609, more enlarged and liberal in its terms than the form- 
er. Thomas West, lord De la War, was appointed governour 
for life, but being unable to leave England immediately, Sir 
Thomas Gates, and Sir George Summers, were despatched 
with five hundred settlers, in nine ships. Eight of these arri- 
ved at Jamestown ; the other, with Summers and Gates, 
was wrecked on the Bermuda isles, and as these two men 
only were commissioned to exercise the government, the col- 
ony soon fell into disorder. Smith at this time was ill from 
the effect of injuries received from the accidental explosion 
of a quantity of powder, and could not act with his usual 
promptitude. 

7. Dispirited by the distresses they endured, the colonists, 
with one voice, determined to return to England. This reso- 
lution, the arrival of Gates and Summers did not shake, but 
they embarked and sailed down the river. But just as they 
had reached its mouth, they met lord De la War with three 
ships, laden with every thing necessary for the comfort and 
defence of the colony. The governour, by his affability and 
attention to the wants of the settlers, soon gained their affec- 
tions ; but in 1611, his health obliged him to return home, 
and he was succeeded by Sir Thomas Dale, under whose ad- 
ministration the colony greatly prospered. 

8. In 1612, the marriage of Pocahontas with Mr. Rolfe, 
a young man of rank in the colony, took place. The alliance 
was encouraged by Dale, as promising of usefulness to the 
colony. Powhattan did not disapprove of it, and thus the 
foundation was laid for a lasting peace with the Indians. 
Mr. Rolfe carried his wife to England, where she was recei- 
ved with respect and attention. She embraced the Christian 
religion, and in her baptism took the name of Rebecca. As 
she was on the point of embarking for America, she died, 
leaving an only son, from whom are descended some of the 
most respectable families in Virginia, who are justly proud of 
their descent. 

9. The right of property in land was first granted about 
fhis time. Hitherto, all had laboured in a common field, bu! 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 163 

it was found that the united toil of all the settlers did not ac- 
complish in a week, what might have been done in a day, if 
each had worked on his own account. As a remedy for this 
evil, a considerable portion of the land was divided into three 
acre lots, and one of these was granted to each settler. Soon 
after, fifty acres were assigned to each one, and the common 
field was entirely relinquished. Tobacco was the chief arti- 
cle cultivated. 

10. In 1613, the states general of Holland, granted to 
certain Dutch merchants the exclusive navigation of the Hud- 
son river. These merchants erected a fort or trading house 
where Albany now stands, and another on Manhattan island, 
now New- York. The English rejected the claim of the 
Dutch to the country, on the ground that Hudson, although 
sailing in the Dutch service, was an English subject. Ac- 
cordingly Capt. Argal, returning from Nova Scotia, whither he 
had been to disposess the French, visited the Dutch at Man- 
hattan island, and demanded possession in the name of king 
James. The Dutch not being able to resist, yielded, but the 
next year they threw off the yoke, and built a stronger 
fortress. 

11. Captain Smith, whose name has been so often men- 
tioned, explored the American coast from Penobscot to cape 
Cod in 1614. On his return, he presented an accurate map 
of the coast to Prince Charles, and gave so splendid a descrip- 
tion of the country, that the prince bestowed upon it the name 
of New-England, which it still retains. Out of respect to 
the. mother of Charles, cape Ann received its name. 

1 2. Sir George Yeardly, in 1619, was appointed governour 
of Virginia. He called the first general assembly ever held 
in the colony, and gave the settlers the rank and privileges of 
freemen ; for till then, they had only been the servants of the 
London company. Eleven corporations, by their represen- 
tatives, were present at this assembly. About this time, a 
number of young women of unexceptionable characters, 
though of humble birth, were sent over to be sold to the plan- 
ters as wives. At first, one hundred pounds of tobacco was 
the price of a wife, but it was afterward raised to one hun- 
dred and fifty pounds. 

13; Negro slaves were first introduced into Virginia, in 
1619. A Dutch ship from Africa, arrived at Jamestown with 
slaves, and a part of her cargo was purchased by the planters. 



164 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

and in a short time, the whole of the field labour was perform- 
ed by negroes. Since the time that James I. made the parti- 
tion of territory between the London and Plymouth compa- 
nies, the former far exceeded the latter in zeal and success ; 
indeed all its exertions seem to have terminated unfavour- 
ably, 

14. Opposition to ecclesiastical tyranny, and a desire for 
religious freedom, at length effected the object sought by the 
Plymouth company. Many of the dissenters in England, or 
Puritans, as they were then called, finding that they could no 
longer enjoy the rights of conscience at home, determined to 
seek an asylum in a foreign country. They accordingly 
removed to Ley den, in Holland. B ut not finding their 
circumstances as agreeable as they expected, they de- 
termined on a removal to America. Having obtained a pro- 
mise from James I., that they should not be molested in the 
exercise of their religion, and a grant from the Virginia com- 
pany of a tract of land, they prepared to embark. 

15. September 6, 1620, apart of the congregation at Ley- 
den sailed for America, in a ship called the May-Flower. 
Touching at England, w r here they were joined by some oth- 
ers, they at length departed for the new world — Hudson river 
being the place were they designed to settle. But the captain 
either through design or mistake, carried them far north, the 
first land they made being cape Cod. Here they found them- 
selves obliged to land, both on account of the lateness of the 
season, and the sickness with which they were afflicted ; but 
being not only out of the limits of the company from whom 
proceeded their grant of territory, but also out of the limits of 
their patent, before leaving the ship, they drew up and signed 
a civil compact and chose a governour. 

16. A place now called Plymouth, was the spot upon 
which they fixed for a settlement, after exploring the coast. 
Although divine providence had prepared the way for these 
pilgrims, by sending three years before a desolating sickness 
among the Indians, yet the inclemency of the weather, want 
and disease, soon brought them into a distressed situation. 
Nearly one half of their number died before spring, among 
whom was Mr. John Carver, their worthy governour. Mas- 
sasoit, a sachem of the Wampanoag tribe of Indians, be- 
friended them in their calamity, made a treaty with them, and 
proved faithful to their interests till his death. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 105 

17. The "Grand Council of Plymouth, for planting and 
governing New England, in America," was incorporated by 
James L in 1620. By this act, all the territory lying between 
the 40th and 48th degree of north latitude, was granted to 
them, and the name New-England was confirmed by royal 
authority. The society thus incorporated, did nothing to 
effect toward colonizing^ and had it not been for private ef- 
forts, stimulated by the operation of the same causes which 
induced the puritans to emigrate, New-England would have 
remained a wilderness. 

18. Sir Ferdinando Georges and John Mason, in 1622, 
obtained a grant from the Plymouth colony of all the lands 
between the rivers Merrimack and 3agadahock. The next 
year a few persons were sent over to establish a fishery and 
colony at Piscataqua, and a fish-house was also erected in the 
present town of Dover. In 1621, Holland made a grant to 
the Dutch West India company of an extensive territory on 
both sides of the Hudson river, and called the country New 
Netherlands. The boundaries of this grant were indefinitCj 
but were supposed to include Connecticut river on the north, 
and Delaware river on the south, and the subject afterward 
became the source of much contention, both in Europe and 
America. 

19. A conspiracy of the Indians to massacre the whites, 
nearly proved fatal to the colony of Virginia in 1622. Pow- 
hattan was now dead, and his son and successor, not enter- 
taining the same sentiments of friendship toward the English, 
determined to strike a blow of utter extermination. Four 
years were spent in maturing the plot, and during all that time^ 
the most profound secrecy was observed. To each tribe was 
allotted its station and its part to act. At length, on the 22d 
of March, 1622, all the settlements of the English, were at 
the same moment, attacked, and nearly one-fourth of the co- 
lony was destroyed. Jamestown was saved by the friend- 
ship of an Indian, who revealed the secret to his master, the 
night before the massacre. A bloody war followed, and the 
Indians were subdued. 

20. In 1624, king James dissolved the London company, 
and assumed its rights and privileges. A council of twelve 
was appointed to manage the affairs of Virginia, while the 
king set himself to devise a plan for establishing a permanent 
government in the country ; but death prevented the comple- 

15 



166 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

tion of his schemes. His son Charles I. followed the plane 
of his father, and the will of the lung became the only law of 
the colony. Harvey was sent over as governour, but his 
conduct so displeased the colonists, that they seized and sent 
him prisoner to England. The king sent him back with en- 
larged powers, and the dissatisfaction of the colony increased. 

21. Sir William Berkley was then appointed, and Harvey 
recalled. But the discontents still continued, although the 
government of Berkley was of a mild and judicious charac- 
ter. At length Charles, wearied with contention at home 
and abroad, granted the settlers permission to choose repre- 
sentatives, and in conjunction with the governour and coun- 
cil to exercise the government of the colony. In 1627, a 
number of Swedes and Fins landed at cape Henlopen, and 
began the settlement of Delaware. 

22. Seventeen vessels arrived from England with emi- 
grants in 1629. These at first settled at Salem, and soon 
after founded Charlestown, Boston, and some other towns. 
The cause of this rapid progress of emigration, was an altera- 
tion made in the charter by the king, by which the power of 
disposing of lands and exercising government was vested in 
the settlers. On the 18th of May, 1631, the first election in 
New-England, under the new charter, was held at Boston, 
and John Winthrop was chosen governour, and Thomas Dud- 
ley deputy-governour. 

23. George Calvert, lord Baltimore, a Roman catholick, 
in 1631, obtained a grant of a tract of land, lying on Chesa- 
peake bay, which he called Maryland. Before his grant was 
fully completed, lord Baltimore died, and the grant was given 
to his son Cecil. As this grant extended from the Potomack 
to the fortieth degree of latitude, including what before had 
been given to the London company, and what afterward was 
granted to William Penn, the foundation was laid for long 
and obstinate contentions between the descendants of Penn 
and Baltimore. 

24. Two hundred settlers, late in the year 1633, sailed 
with Leonard Calvert, brother to Cecil, for America, and 
early in 1634, arrived in the Potomack. These settlers pur- 
chased of the Indians Yamaco, one of their settlements, 
where St. Marys now stands, and thus, by the adoption 
of a pacifick course, secured the friendship of the natives, as 
well as comfortable habitations, and some improved land?. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 167 

The pleasantness of the country, the religious freedom en- 
joyed, and liberality of the charter, were circumstances which 
greatly promoted the prosperity of the new colony. 

25. In 1633 was built the first house in Connecticut, at 
Windsor, by a party of adventurers from Plymouth. The 
Dutch, anticipating the design, sent a party just before, which 
erected a fort on or near the spot where Hartford now stands. 
The Dutch forbade the Plymouth settlers to advance, but the 
commander of the party paid no regard to their menaces or 
orders. 

26. The government of Massachusetts, in 1634, was 
changed from a simple to a representative form. This inno- 
vation was caused by the distance of many of the settlements 
from Boston, some of which were more than thirty miles dis- 
tant? and it was found very inconvenient for all the male in- 
habitants to attend the general court. Each town was there- 
fore empowered to choose two or three of its inhabitants, and 
these, when met in general court, were authorized to act for 
those by whom they were chosen. Still, the freemen met 
once a year in their respective towns, to elect a governour, 
and other officers, 

27. Hugh Peters, chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, and Mr. 
Vane, son of Sir Henry Vane, arrived from England in 1635. 
The reputation of Mr. Vane for piety and wisdom, and his 
grave deportment, induced the people to choose him govern- 
our the next year after his arrival. But after two years, some 
of die people becoming disaffected with him, he returned to 
Englando 

28.. In 1635, Wethersfield, in Connecticut, was settled by 
a company of adventurers from Watertown, (Mass.) Nearly 
at the same time, some persons interested in the Connecticut 
patent, sent Mr. John Winthrop to erect a fort at the mouth 
of Connecticut river. A few days after the arrival of Win- 
throp and his party, a Dutch vessel from New -Netherlands 
appeared off the harbour, with the intention of taking posses- 
sion of the country. But the English presenting a warlike 
attitude, the Dutch desisted. 

29. Mr. Hooker and his congregation, from Newtown, 
(Mass.) in 1636, induced by the fertility of the soil on Con- 
necticut river, determined to remove and settle at Hartford. 
They pursued their journey by land, taking with them their 
wives and children, and driving their cattle through the wil~ 



LG8 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

derness. The settlements at Hartford, Wethersfield, and 
Windsor, then united, elected magistrates and took the name 
of the Colony of Connecticut. About this time, or a little 
before, the first permanent settlements were made in Maine, 
at Kittery and York. 

30. In 1636, Roger Williams, having been banished from 
Massachusetts on account of his religious sentiments, com- 
menced the settlement of Rhode Island. He settled at a 
place which he called Providence. In 1637, a publick school 
was founded at Newtown, now Cambridge, (Mass.) which 
was afterward established by the legislature, and called Har- 
vard college, in honour ofits principal benefactor, Mr. Harvard. 

31. The great theological disturbance, made by Ann 
Hutchinson, distinguished the year 1637. At length a ge- 
neral synod was. called, by which Mrs. Hutchinson's opinions 
were condemned, and the general court banished her from 
the colony. Many, however, embraced her opinions, among 
whom were governour Vane, Mr. Cotton, and Mr. Wheel- 
wright. A party of her adherents, withdrawing from the 
communion of their brethren, joined Williams at Providence. 
Wheelwright, however, went north and commenced the set- 
tlement of New-Hampshire. 

£*2. A war with the Pequods commenced in 1G37. This 
nation proposed to the Narragansetts, a neighbouring tribe, 
to unite against the English, but instead of acceding to 
the proposal, they took up arms against the Pequods. But 
this did not intimidate them in the least ; on the contrary, 
they seemed the more exasperated, and used every means 
and every opportunity to annoy and distress the English, re- 
tiring to their almost inaccessible fortresses when in danger 
of being attacked. 

33. At fort Mystick, situated on a rising ground in the 
middle of a swamp, was fought a bloody battle, between *he 
Pequods and English. Captain Mason, who command ;! 
the Connecticut troops, reached the fort after a fatiguing 
march of two days through the woods, and if a dog had not by 
his barking given the alarm, an unresisting massacre would 
have taken place. But the Indians being alarmed, flew T to 
arms, and the parties fighting hand to hand, the ^onflictbecame 
deadly. At length, captain Mason, seeing the issue to be 
doubtful, seized a fire-brand, and crying "we must hum 
Ihcm," applied it to a wigwam. In a moment the whole foil 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 169 

was in a blaze, and the English having surrounded it to pre- 
vent escape, warriours, women, and children, perished in the 
flames. 

34. In a swamp, situated in the present town of Fairfield, 
another action soon afterward occurred. This battle com- 
pleted the subjugation of the Pequods. in less than three 
months the whole tribe was exterminated, a few excepted, 
who took refuge among the neighbouring tribes. The vigour 
of the colonists in prosecuting this war, and their success, 
gave the surrounding tribes so high an opinion of their valour, 
as secured a long period of repose to the English settle- 
ments ; and at the same time the conduct of the administra- 
tion in the mother country, forced many to emigrate to the 
new world. 

35. Mr. Davenport, Mr. Eaton, and other gentlemen of 
fortune, from Boston, settled New-Haven, in 1638. The 
next year the free settlers assembled in a large barn, and en- 
tered into a solemn compact, to be governed by the rules of 
Scripture, as well in their civil as religious concerns. Mr. 
Eaton was chosen governour. In 1640, this colony made 
some settlements on the Delaware ; but two years after, they 
were broken up by the Dutch. 

36. In 1643, the colonies of Massachusetts, Plymouth, 
Connecticut, and New-Haven, entered into articles of con- 
federation for their mutual benefit. This confederacy took 
the style of " The United Colonies of New- England." Each 
colony appointed two commissioners, who were to meet by 
rotation annually in one of the confederated colonies to con- 
sult and determine upon all objects of common interest to the 
whole. Rhode Island petitioned to be included in the union, 
but was refused, unless she would acknowledge the jurisdic- 
tion of Plymouth, to which she did not accede. This confed- 
eracy was of great service to the colonies, and continued up- 
ward of forty years. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who discovered Chesapeake bay, and when ? — 2. What caused 
much suffering to the colonists ? — 3. Who by his courage and pru- 
dence relieved them from difficulty? — 4. What happened to Smith 
when on an excursion to discover the source of the Chickahominy ?— - 
5. When did Henry Hudson enter the river called by his name?— 6. 
What was granted to the colony at Jamestown in 1609 1 — 7. Why did 
the colonists determine to return to England ? — 8. What took place 
in 1612?— 9. What was first granted about this time?— 10. What did 
15* 



170 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

lie States General of Holland do in 1613?— 11. Who explored the 
American coast from Penobscot to cape Cod, and when? — 12. Who 
was appointed governour of Virginia in 1619? — 13. What were first 
introduced into Virginia the same year? — 14. What at length effected 
the object sought by the Plymouth company? — 15. When did a part 
of Mr. Robinson's congregation sail from Leyden to America ? — 16. 
What spot did they fix upon for a settlement? — 17. What was incor- 
porated by James 1. in 1620? — 18. Who obtained a grant of the Ply- 
mouth company in 1622? — 19. What nearly proved fatal to the colo- 
ny of Virginiajthe same year ? — 20. What did king James do in 1624 ? 
— 21. Who was appointed governour of Virginia when Harvey was 
tecalled? — 22. How many vessels arrived from England with emi- 
grants in 1629?— 23. Who obtained a grant of Maryland?— 24. How 
many settlers sailed with Leonard Calvert, brother to Cecil? — 25. 
When was the first house built in Connecticut, and where ? — 26. How 
was the government of Massachusetts changed in 1634? — 27. Who 
arrived from England in 1635? — 28. When and by whom wasWeth- 
ersfield, Conn, settled? — 29. Who settled Hartford, and when ? — 30. 
Who began the settlement of Rhode Island, and when ? — 31. What dis- 
tinguished the year 1637? — 32. What war commenced the same year? 
— 33. Where was fought the bloody battle between the Pequods and 
the English? — 34. Where did another action afterward occur ? — 35 
Who settled New-Haven in 1638 ?— 36. What was done in 1643 ? 

SECTION IV. 

AFFAIRS OP THE UNITED COLONIES. WAR WITH THE BUTCH. 
KING PHILIPS WAR. FRENCH WAR OF 1689. 

1. In 1644, Roger Williams, who went to England the 
year before for that purpose, obtained of the Plymouth com- 
pany a free charter of incorporation for Rhode Island. The 
same year Mr. Fenwick, agent of the proprietors, assigned 
fort Saybrook, and all the rights given by the patent, to the 
general court of Connecticut, for seven thousand dollars. 
The settlement at Saybrook then became a part of Con- 
necticut. 

2. An insurrection occurred in Maryland in 1645, headed 
by one Clayborne, who some years before had caused distur- 
bances, and excited an Indian war. Governour Calvert now 
fled into Virginia, while Clayborne and his associates usurped 
the government of the colony. The insurgents were sub- 
dued the next year, and peace restored. In 1646, at Strick- 
land's plains, in the present town of Greenwich, (Conn.) a 
bloody battle was fought between the Dutch and Indians. 
Many fell on both sides, but the Indians were defeated. The 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 173 

graves of the dead were to be discerned more than a hundred 
years after the battle. 

3. Between 1640 and 1650, the first settlements were 
made in North Carolina, by some planters from Virginia, and 
emigrants from other places. Many Quakers were among 
them. As the settlement fell within the limits of the grant of 
Carolina, the proprietors authorized governour Berkley, of 
Virginia, to take it under his protection., and he appointed a 
man by the name of Drummond for governour. But the 
settlers being dissatisfied with some of the regulations impos- 
ed revolted ; their grievences being however redressed, they 
returned to their duty. 

4. In 1650, the Dutch relinquished all claim to jurisdiction 
in Connecticut. Long Island was divided between them and 
the English. While the commissioners of the colonies for the 
adjusting of claims was in session at New-Haven, the French 
sent agents to ask aid against the Six Nations ; but their re- 
quest was not granted. The people of New-Haven now re- 
newed their attempt to settle themselves on the Delaware, but 
the Dutch opposing the design, it was relinquished. 

5. In 1651, the Dutch erected a fort at Newcastle, on 
the Delaware. The governour of the Swedes settled on that 
river, considering Newcastle as within the Swedish jurisdic- 
tion, made a formal protest against the settlement. The next 
governour of the Swedes made the Dutch fort a visit, under 
colour of friendship, and seizing the opportunity, treacher- 
ously took possession. The Dutch, under Peter Stuyvesant, 
governour of New- York, not relishing such friendship, in 
1655, paid the Swedes a visit, recaptured Newcastle, and 
took all the forts in the possession of the Swedes in Dela- 
ware, sending such of the occupants as refused to take the 
oath of allegiance, home to Sweden. 

6. The dissensions in England between the king and the 
parliament, produced a civil war. in Maryland. The New- 
England colonies took part with the parliament, and were 
greatly favoured ; but those on Chesapeake bay, adhering to 
the king, force was applied for reducing them to submission. 
In Maryland, Calvert, by acknowledging the authority of par- 
liament retained his station ; but a contest commencing be- 
tween the catholicks and the protestants, the latter became the 
dominant party, and the catholicks were declared to be out 
of the protection of the laws. The persecution extended al~ 
m to Episcopalians and Quakers. 



\12 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

7. The apprehension of a Dutch and Indian war, excited 
great alarm among the colonies in 16ol. Stuyvesant, go- 
vcrnour of JS (ew-N efnerland^, having made no satisfaction for 
former injuries, added fresh insults, and used every art to 
excite the Indians to hostilities. Agents were sent to him by 
the English to obtain satisfaction, but leturned unsuccessful. 
The commissioners of the colonies met, and determined up- 
on a war with the Dutch and the Narragansett Indians. But 
Massachusetts refusing to raise her quota of men, the war 
was not prosecuted, and an altercation took place between 
the colonies. Connecticut and New-Haven sent to Crom- 
well for aid. 

8. An insurrection, headed by one Josiah Fendal, took 
place in Maryland in 1656. He was a man of an intriguing 
and restless spirit, and caused great disturbances in the colo- 
ny. The same year peace was made between the Dutch and 
English, and Stuyvesant sent a letter to the New-England 
commissioners, congratulating them respecting the event, 
and expressing a wish for a nearer union between the colo- 
nies of the two nations. With the former part of his message 
the commissioners were satisfied, but in their reply, they gave 
no intimation of a desire for any closer union. 

9. The Quakers were at this time greatly persecuted in 
Massachusetts. A law was passed, forbidding them to come 
into the colony ; their rights as freemen were denied them ; 
some were imprisoned, others were fined, and a few who had 
been banished and returned were put to death. While these 
things were transpiring in New-England, Cromwell died, and 
Charles II. was proclaimed. As the New-England colonies 
had been great favourites with the Protector and parliament, 
the information of the restoration of the king was by no means 
agreeable. 

10. The colony of Virginia having been the last to ac- 
knowledge the authority of parliament, was the first to pro- 
claim Charles II. Great discontents had arisen on account 
of the restrictions put upon their commerce, and on the death 
of governour Matthews, these discontents broke out into 
open violence. Berkley, their former governour, was forced 
from his retirement, and compelled to assume the adminis- 
tration. By the unexpected revolution in favour of royalty, 
this movement of the Virginians was rendered less unfortu- 
nate than it otherwise might have been. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 173 

11. Generals Goffe and Whalley, two of the judges of 
Charles I., and who had signed the warrant fot his execution, 
arrived at Boston in 1660, the year of the restoration of mo- 
narchy. Gov. Endicot and the chief men received them cau- 
tiously, and they lived retired^ but not screted } in Cambridge. 
But in 1661, receiving intelligence that they were not inclu- 
ded in the act of pardon, they removed to New-Haven, and 
were concealed by the inhabitants. Officers were sent from 
England to apprehend them, but not being very nice in their 
inquiries, they escaped. 

12. In 1664, they removed to Hadley, (Mass.,) and for 
some years were concealed in the house of the Rev. Mr. Rus- 
sell. In 1675, when the Indians attacked Hadley, and the 
inhabitants were thrown into confusion, a person hoary with 
age, in a strange dress, and of a ccramaading appearance, 
suddenly appeared among them, placed himself at their head, 
exhorted them to courage, and by \m military skill conducted 
them to immediate victory, and then as suddenly disappeared. 
This person was Goffe, fetal the people for a long time sup- 
posed that an angei had appeared for their deliverence. 
Whalley died, it is supposed, in 167b 1 , after wlreh Goffe went 
southward, and no certain information of him was ever recei- 
ved. 

13. In 1662, Connecticut applied for a charter, and obtain- 
ed it. By the charter, the constitution which the people had 
adopted was in every respect confirmed. New-Haven was in- 
cluded in the charter, and though extremely averse to a union, 
yet three years after, the colorie ? consented to be united. A 
mint was established at Boston the same year that C onnecti- 
cut received her charter. The year before, a settlement was 
made in Carolina, near Clarendon river, by adventurers from 
Massachusetts. They abandoned the country in 1663, but 
two years after, some emigrants from the island of Barba- 
does, with Sir John Yeamans for thei* governour, renewed 
the settlement. 

14. The duke of York, in 1664, obtained of his brother 
Charles II., a grant of all the country which the Dutch clai- 
med. Charles saw the impolicy of having a foreign power in 
the heart of his American dominions ; and therefore, although 
the two nations were in a state of profound peace, sent out a 
body of forces to put his brother in posf ssion of the country. 
Colonel Richard Nichols was appointed commander. Pro- 



174 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ceeding to Manhattan, he demanded immediate surrender oi 
the fort. Stuyvesant, though very reluctant to yield, was yet 
unprepared for defence, and accordingly surrendered. Nich- 
ols changing the name of Manhattan to that of New- York, 
proceeded to reduce the Swedes and Dutch on the Delaware 
river. 

15. Lord Berkley and Sir George Carteret, in 1664, ob- 
tained of the duke of York a grant of all the territory lying 
between the Delaware and the Hudson rivers. This tract 
was called New-Jersey, as a compliment to Carteret, who iiad 
been governour of the islaad of Jersey. Berkley and Carte- 
ret, in 1665, formed a constitution for the settlers, who had 
become numerous, and Carteret came out as governour, and 
fixed the seat of his government at Elizabethtown. 

16. In 1670 ? Charleston, in South Carolina, was founded 
by William Sayle, governour of the colony. During his ad- 
ministration, the celebrated Mr. Locke, at the request of the 
proprietors, drew up a constitution for the colony ; but on at- 
tempting to put it in force, so great an opposition was raised, 
that it was abandoned. Governour Sayle died in 1671, and 
his colony was put under the government of governour Yea- 
mans, of the colony of Clarendon. 

17. In 1673, England and Holland were again engaged in 
war. The latter immediately sent out a fleet to regain her 
American possessions, and the fort at New- York not being in 
astate to offer resistance, that and die city were immediately sur- 
rendered. The next year the war was closed, and the Dutch 
by treaty ceded New- York to the English. The duke of 
York to prevent any dispute about his title, took out a new 
patent, and appointed Sir Edmund Andross governour. In 
1675, Andross led an expedition against Connecticut, over 
that part of it which lay west of the river the duke claimed ju- 
risdiction. But finding the colony prepared for defence, he 
abandoned the enterprise. 

18. King Philip's war commenced in 1675. His father 
Massasoit was the first and firm friend of the whites, and his 
ancestors were lords of the country. The cause of Philip's 
taking up the hatchet, seems to have been a jealousy of the 
increasing power and population of the English, and a well 
founded apprehension, that the Indians must ultimately retire, 
and leave their favourite hunting grounds and the places of 
their father's sepulchures to the strangers. The same spirit 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 175 

which animated Philip, spread through all the Indian tribes, 
and a general rising of all the savages of New-England was 
feared. 

19. On the 20th of June, 1675, Philip commenced hosti- 
lities by attacking Swanzey, a frontier town of New-Ply- 
mouth. But the Indians being vigorously assaulted, fled, and 
took shelter in a swamp. The English, being re-enforced 
by troops from Boston, approached the Indian towns, which 
they found deserted ; even that where Philip himself resided, 
bore evident marks of having been left with precipitation. 
The course of the savages in their retreat, could easily be 
traced by the ruin of buildings, and the heads and scalps of 
their slaughtered victims fixed upon poles by the side of the 
way. 

20. On the 18th of July, the forces of Massachusetts and 
Plymouth attacked Philip and his warriours in a swamp at 
Pocasset, near Mount Hope. The position was advanta- 
gious for the Indians ; and as the English entered the swamp, 
the enemy retreated farther and farther into it, till the troops 
came to a thicket so dense and entangled, that it was impos- 
sible for them to keep their order. After continuing the ac- 
tion till night, the English retreated ; and had they the next 
day renewed the attack, Philip could not have escaped, and 
the war would have been terminated. But neglecting the re- 
quisite precaution, Philip, six or eight days after the battle, 
made his escape, and took refuge with the Nipmucks. 

21. Brookfield, Deerfield, Hatfield, and Hadley, suffered 
most severely in this war. In the former of these towns ev- 
ry house was burned except one. Deerfield and Hatfield 
resolved to collect a magazine of provisions at Hadley, and 
form a garrison in the town. Accordingly a troop of young 
men under the command of captain Lathrop was sent to 
transport a quantity of corn from Deerfield. But the Indi- 
ans, apprised of the design, attacked the party at a place ever 
since called Bloody-Brook, and killed almost every man. 
In the month of October, the same year, the Indians attempt- 
ed to burn Springfield ; but the design was discovered in 
season to prevent its complete accomplishment. 

22. A general rising of all the Indians in New-England 
was apprehended in the autumn of this year. The Narra- 
gansetts, notwithstanding the treaty they had made with the 
English, openly received the warriours of Philip, and aided 



176 AMERICAN HISTORY. 






ihem against the colonics. An army was therefore sent into 
the Narragansett country, and on the 18th of December, the 
troops assembled at Petty quamscot, about fifteen miles 
from the enemy's head-quarters. Goveruour Winslow, of 
Plymouth, commanded, but the Connecticut troops were 
conducted by major Treat. 

23. On the 19th of December, the troops began their 
march, after passing a stormy night in the open air, and wa- 
ding through the snow 16 miles, about one o'clock approach- 
ed near the strong-hoid of the enemy, situated on a rising 
ground in the center of a large swamp. The fort which was 
encircled with palisades and trees, had only a single entrance, 
which was over a log lying across a collection of water, and 
this entrance was securely guarded. About 4000 Indians, 
men, women and children, were it is supposed collected in 
the fort. Soon after the English commenced the attack, it 
was discovered that on the side opposite to the entrance, there 
was a place destitute of palisades. Through this opening a 
party of the assailants rushed, and falling on the rear of the 
Indians, secured an easy victoiy. 

24. One thousand warriours were killed ; three hundred 
more, and as many women and children were made prisoners. 
Six hundred wigwams were burned, in the flames of which, 
many of the savages perished; and though the Indians 
never entirely recovered from this defeat, yet to the frontier 
towns they did great damage. Philip had made some at- 
tempts to arouse the Mohawks to a quarrel with the English ; 
and for this purpose, he killed several of that tribe, and ac- 
cused the colonists of performing the deed. But the Mo- 
hawks discovering his treachery, he fled to Mount Hope, 
whither he was pursued by captain Church, and after flying 
from swamp to swamp, was finally killed. 

25. The celebrated Navigation Act was passed by the 
parliament of England, in 1676, and occasioned great dis- 
contents in Virginia. By this act, it was provided that no 
commodities could be imported, unless in vessels built either 
in England or her colonies ; none but Englishmen could act 
as factors in America, and the produce of the colonies could 
not be sent to any country but England, neither could any 
European goods be imported into the colonies except from 
Britain. This statute, which in fact deprived the inhabitants 
of the colonies of the privileges of native Englishmen, was 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 177 

deeply resented, and after having in vain petitioned for re- 
lief, the colony of Virginia felt that it was time to assert its 
rights by force of arms, and nothing but a leader was wanting 
to produce an actual rebellion. 

26. Such a leader was soon found in Nathaniel Bacon, an 
Englishman, and a lawyer of superiour talents and distin- 
guished eloquence. By his eloquent harangues, and encou- 
raging promises, the inhabitants of the colony were persua- 
ded to assemble in arms, and choose him for their leader. 
Bacon proposed to lead his forces against the Indians, and 
sent to governour Berkley for a commission, but was refu- 
sed. He then led his army to Jamestown, obtained a com- 
mission by force, and retired. The governour immediately 
declared him a rebel, and ordered his followers to disperse ; 
upon which Bacon returned to Jamestown, compelled the 
governour to retire, and assumed the powers of government. 
After keeping the colony in a state of alarm for a few months., 
he died, and the governour resumed his authority. 

27. In 1679, New-Hampshire became a separate govern- 
ment, being erected into a province under the crown. The 
assembly was chosen by the people, but the president and 
council were appointed by the king. Two years before the 
separation of New-Hampshire, the controversy which had so 
long subsisted between Massachusetts and the heirs of Geor- 
ges, was settled in England, in favour of the latter. The 
former then purchased the title to the district of Maine, and 
it became a part of the colony. 

28. Edmund Andross, governour of New- York, in 1680. 
set up a claim to East and West Jersey in favour of the duke 
of York. Carteret and Fenwick, the proprietors, resisted 
the claim, but Andross persisted, and seizing them, carried 
them to New-York, where they were imprisoned. Andross 
next laid a duty upon all imported goods, and upon the pro- 
perty of those who came over to settle as colonists. These 
proceedings caused much dissatisfaction, and the whole case 
was finally referred to commissioners. By them the duties 
were adjudged illegal, and they were removed. Edward 
Billinge was appointed governour, and in 1681, he assembled 
the first general assembly ever held in New-Jersey. 

29. William Penn, the son of an English admiral, having 
acted as one of the above-named commissioners, and thus 

16 



178 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

acquired some knowledge of the country, obtained from 
Charles II. the grant of a tract of country extending from the 
fortieth to the forty-third degree of latitude, which he after- 
ward called Pennsylvania. This tract was granted him as a 
discharge of a debt which the crown owed his father, and in 
consideration of services performed by him as admiral. In 
1682, the duke of York granted two tracts called the " Ter- 
ritories," to Penn ; comprehending the present state of De- 
laware. These being annexed to Pennsylvania, were go- 
verned as a part of that province for twenty years. 

30. On the 24th of October, 1680, Penn, with one hun- 
dred settlers, arrived at Newcastle. Proceeding up the 
Delaware, he held a talk with the Indians, at the place where 
Philadelphia now stands, and made an amicable purchase of 
the country, and took quiet and peaceable possession. More 
than fifty houses were erected before the setting in of win- 
ter, and the foundation of a new town laid, which he called 
Philadelphia ; or, brotherly love. In less than one year from 
the time Penn came into his new province, more than thirty 
ships laden with settlers arrived. These were principally 
Quakers, whose chief object in coming to America was, the 
undisturbed enjoyment of their religion. 

31. Thomas Dongan, in 1682, succeeded Andross as go- 
vernour of New-York. By him, the first general assembly 
ever held in the colony was called, and consisted of a coun- 
cil and house of representatives. The assembly possessed 
the sole power of making laws and imposing taxes ; but no law- 
could have any force till approved by the duke of York. 
Governour Dongan gave great attention to Indian affairs, 
and was held in high esteem by the natives. 

32. De La Barre, governour of Canada, in 1684, com- 
plaining that the Five Nations obstructed the French trade 
with more distant tribes, proceeded with a force of seventeen 
hundred men, to lake Ontario, intending the total destruction 
of the confederate tribes. But after a delay of six weeks at 
fort Frontenack, during which a mortal sickness broke out 
among his troops, he found it desirable to enter into a treaty 
with the Indians. Having succeeded in inducing three 
tribes to meet him, he talked to them respecting the cause of 
the war, and the evils they must suffer if it should continue. 
The warriours replied to his talk with eloquence and spirit, 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 179 

and in such a manner as greatly to enrage him. But he was 
compelled to enter into a treaty, and thus closed his cam- 
paign " in a scold with an old Indian." 

33. Montreal was soon after invaded by the Five Nations, 
and all the country around sacked and plundered. Men. 
women, and children, to the number of one thousand, were 
killed, and twenty-six taken prisoners, while the Indians lost 
but three in the expedition. In consequence of these disas- 
ters, the French power in America became so much weaken- 
ed, that they were, for the time being, unable to attempt any 
thing against the settlements of the English. 

34. The government of England determined, about this 
time, to annul the charters of the colonies, and to place over 
them officers who should subserve the purposes of the crown. 
Each colony was directed to place an agent in London, fully 
empowered to act in its behalf; and in 1684, the charter of 
Massachusetts was declared to be forfeited, on account of 
disrespect to the laws charged upon the colony. The go- 
vernment was immediately placed in the hands of the king, 
and Edmund Andross was appointed govern our. 

35. Andross, in 1687, assumed a control over the press, 
and Edmund Randolph was appointed licenser. Soon after. 
Andross, with his suite and a guard, went to Hartford while 
the general court were in session, and demanded the charter 
of the colony. The debate was protracted till evening, when 
the charter was produced and laid on the table. The lights 
were instantly extinguished, and a member of the court took 
the charter and deposited it in the cavity of a large oak. The 
candles were immediately re-lighted, but the charter was not 
to be discovered, or the person who had taken it away. 

36. In 1689, on the accession of William, prince of Or- 
ange, to the English throne, the people no longer able to en« 
dure the despotick rule of Andross, seized both him and his 
minion, Randolph? and cast them into prison. In New- York, 
a party was formed in favour of the prince of Orange, at the 
head of which was Jacob Leisler, a man in some esteem 
among the people, of small fortune, but destitute of every 
qualification for the enterprise he had undertaken. Milb6rhe ? 
his son-in-law, was his counsellor. They first seized the fort, 
and then declared in favour of William. The council and 
magistrates were opposed to Leisler, and for a time great di- 
visions existed in the colony. Leisler, being at length super- 



180 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ceded in his office of governour, and refusing to surrender the 
garrison, was taken prisoner, and executed. Peace was 
then restored to the colony. 

37. An expedition against Schenectady, consisting of 
French and Indians, was sent out in 1689, by the governour 
of Canada, — France and England being then at war. After a 
march of twenty-two days, in the midst of winter, with their 
provisions on their backs, on the 8th of February the enemy 
reached Schenectady. The inhabitants, thinking it imprac- 
ticable for the foe to reach them, on account of the distance 
and the severity of the season, were lulled into such perfect 
security, that they retired to rest on the fatal night without 
even closing the gates of the town. About 1 1 o'clock, the 
enemy having divided themselves into small parties of six or 
seven each, that they might invest every house, began the 
attack. Sixty persons were slain ; twenty-seven were ta- 
ken prisoners, and the rest (led to Albany, from which place 
a party of young men set off in pursuit, and overtaking the 
invaders, captured twenty-five of their number. 

38. The settlement at Salmon falls, was surprised about 
the same time, by another party of French and Indians under 
the command of the Sieur Hertel. On the 18th of March, 
the place was attacked at day break ; and though the inhabi- 
tants defended themselves in the fortified houses for some 
time, yet they were at last obliged to surrender at discretion. 
Thirty persons were killed, and fifty taken prisoners. The 
fort and settlement at Casco was destroyed by the same party. 

39. An expedition against Port Royal and Quebec, was 
set on foot by New-York and the eastern colonies, who be- 
gan to be aroused by the barbarities of the enemy. In 1690, 
a fleet of small vessels, commanded by Sir William Phipps, 
sailed for the reduction of Port Royal, of which, as well as 
the whole country as far as Penobscot, he made an easy con- 
quest, and the fleet and army returned to Boston in about a 
month after their departure. Encouraged by this success, 
an expedition was next undertaken for the invasion of Que- 
bec and Montreal. But a combination of unlooked-for cir- 
cumstances defeated the plan, and the different detachments 
of troops returned. The failure of these expeditions produced 
unhappy effects. The soldiers on their return were on the 
point of mutiny for their pay ; the Five Nations blamed the 
English for their inactivity, and the enemy were encouraged* 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 181 

40. In 1691, major Peter Schuyler, of Albany, collecting 
three hundred Indians, proceeded down lake Champlain to 
La Prairie, where he engaged eight hundred French troops, 
and gained a complete victory. Three hundred of the ene- 
my were slain. — Seth Sothel, on account of his injustice was 
compelled to relinquish the government of North Carolina. 
Having taken refuge in South Carolina, he was made go- 
vernour of that colony, but two years after he was removed. 
He died in 1692. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who obtained a charter for Rhode Island in 1644?— 2. What 
occurred in Maryland in 1645?— 3. When were the first settlements 
made in North Carolina? — 4. What did the Dutch relinquish in 1650? 
— 5. Where did the Dutch erect a fort in 1651 ?— 6. What produced 
a civil war in Maryland? — 7. What excited great alarm in the colo- 
nies in 1651 ?— 8. What took place in Maryland in 1656?-— 9. Who 
at this time were greatly persecuted in Massachusetts ? — 10. Which 
colony was the first to proclaim Charles II.? — 1 1. Who arrived in Bos- 
ton, 1*660 ?—12. To what place did tliey remove in 1664?— 1.3. When 
did Connecticut obtain a charter ? — 14. Who, in 1664, obtained a 
grant of all the country claimed by the Dutch in North America? — 
15. Who obtained the same year, of the duke of York, a grant of all 
the country between the Delaware and Hudson rivers? — 16. When 
and by whom was Charleston, in South Carolina, founded ? — 17. 
What countries again engaged in war in 1673? — 18. What Indian war 
commenced in 1675? — 19. When was Swanzey attacked ? — 20. What 
took place on the 18th of July ?— 21. What places suffered severely 
in this war? — 22. What was apprehended in the autumn of this year? 
— 23. When did the troops under governour Winslow and major 
Treat march into the Narragansett country ? — 24. How many Indians 
were killed in the battle of that day ? — 25. What celebrated act did 
the parliament of England pass in 1676? — 26. Who headed the re- 
bellion in Virginia at this time ? — 27. When did New-Hampshire be- 
come a separate government? — 28. Who, in 1680, set up a claim to 
East and West Jersey ? — 29. Who obtained of Charles II. a grant of 
Pennsylvania? — 30. When did he arrive at Newcastle? — 31. Who 
succeeded Andross as governour of New-York in 1682?— 32. Who 
made war on the Five Nations in 1684?— 33. What place did the 
Five Nations soon after attack?— 34. What was determined by the 
government of England about this time? — 35. What did Andross do 
in 1687 ?— 36. What did the people of New-England do in 1689, on the 
accession of William, prince of Orange ? — 37. What expedition was 
Bent out by the governour of Canada the same year? — 38. What set- 
tlement was attacked about the same time ?-^39. What expedition did 
New-York and the eastern colonies undertake ?— 40. Who defeated 
the French at La Prairie in 1691 ? 
16* 



182 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

SECTION V. 

iALEM WITCHCRAFT. PEACE OF RYSWICK. CAPTAIN KIDr 
SETTLEMENT OF GEORGIA. 

1. Sir William Phipps arrived from England, May 14, 1692, 
with a new charter for the colony of Massachusetts. By the 
charter, he was constituted governour and Capt. General, and 
he entered immediately on the duties of his office, with- 
out any opposition from the people, with whom he was deser- 
vedly popular. Almost the first act of his government was, 
the formation of a court for the trial of persons accused of 
witchcraft. Parliament had enacted a law punishing the sup- 
posed crime with death, and many in England had been exe- 
cuted. Two or three had also suffered death in Massachusetts. 

2. In February, 1692, the delusion first appeared at Salem, 
(Mass.) in the family of Mr. Paris, minister of the place. A 
daughter and a niece of this gentleman, were affected in a 
most singular and surprising manner. A council of physi- 
cians being unable to account for the unusual contortions oi 
body which they witnessed in these persons, pronounced them 
bewitched. This decision was in perfect accordance with the 
credulity of the times ; and the children affected, soon pro- 
nounced an Indian woman, living in the family, to be 
the cause of their torments. This woman, more ignorant, 
but not less credulous, than her master and his neighbours, 
confessed herself guilty. 

3. In June, the court which had been specially instituted 
for this purpose, held a session for the trial of those accused 
of witchcraft. Many were tried, and some were sentenced 
to die. But these proceedings so far from arresting the evil, 
only increased it. In proportion as the matter assumed im- 
portance in the view of the publick, the number of accusers, 
and of course the accused, increased. Those who were ac- 
cused, were not the old, the infirm, and the ignorant only ; 
no age, rank or sex was exempt. Even the brutes were in- 
volved in the calamity. At Andover, a dog was accused and 
put to death. 

4. Twenty persons were executed, and more than a hun- 
dred were imprisoned. The wife of Sir Wm. Phipps, two 
sons of Gov. Dudley, and other persons of distinction, wen 
accused, and probably would have suffered, had not the evil 
now become so extended as to fill the whole country with ap 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 188 

prehension. People began to see their errour, and numbers 
were filled with remorse. One of the judges made publick 
confession, and asked forgiveness of God and man, and se- 
veral who had acted as jurors, followed his example. A day 
of publick fasting and prayer was appointed, and observed by 
all ; for they felt that all had sinned. Thus, the cloud so 
portentous of ruin, slowly and gradually retired, and the calm 
sunshine of reason and sober reflection, once more beamed 
upon a mourning country. 

5. Colonel Benjamin Fletcher was appointed governour ot 
New- York, in 1692. He was also directed to command the 
militia and garrison of Connecticut. In major Schuyler. 
Fletcher found an able and experienced assistant, and he was 
much governed by his advice, especially in Indian affairs. 
The governour went to Connecticut to assume the command 
of the militia and the garrison, but the officers of the colony 
making a firm and spirited refusal, he withdrew. 

6. William Penn, being suspected of carrying on a trea- 
sonable correspondence with the exiled king James, fell at 
this time under the displeasure of king William. He was se- 
veral times imprisoned on charges not well defined, and de- 
prived of his government. But after the severest investiga- 
tion, nothing appeared to countenance even suspicion,, and 
he was acquitted, and restored both to his government and to 
the favour of his sovereign. — In 1693, at the request of the 
inhabitants, the proprietors of Carolina abrogated the consti- 
tution of Locke, and the colony was afterward under the rule 
of a governour, council, and house of representatives. 

7. New-Hampshire and Maine suffered more from the 
wars with the savages, than any other of the colonies. This 
arose from the circumstance of their being frontier provinces. 
Baron Castine, a French nobleman of distinction in his own 
country, early formed an establishment at Penobscot, for tra- 
ding with the Indians, with whom he intermarried, and over 
whom he attained an unbounded influence. This person 
was justly regarded by the English, as a most dangerous en- 
emy, and a party was sent out to apprehend him. But being 
apprised of the design, he escaped into the wilderness. His 
buildings were, however , demolished, and he returned to 
France, where he lived till the year 1697. 

8. A number of French protestants, about this time, plan- 
ted themselves on the river Neuse ? in North Carolina, in the 



164 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

present county of Craven. Between these and the English 
settlements in the same province, dissensions arose which 
greatly disturbed the peace of the colony. The English de- 
nied the French settlers every civil privilege, even the right 
of being represented in the colonial assembly. As their mar- 
riages were performed by French ministers, a law was passed 
declaring them void, and their issue incapable of inheriting. 

9. For the purpose of settling these difficulties, John Arch- 
dale was sent over as governour, and by his wisdom and 
firmness, fully accomplished the object. The French set- 
tlers were restored to their rights, and the colony returned to 
a state of peace. About this time, a vessel from Madagas- 
car touched at Carolina, the captain of which presented the 
governour with a bag of rice, and gave him some information 
as to the manner of cultivating it. From this circumstance, 
arose the cultivation of a grain, which has since become a 
staple commodity of Carolina. 

10. An attack on Boston was planned in 1697, by the 
French in Canada, and a large fleet was sent from France to 
aid in the design. The marquis of Nesmond was appointed 
to the command of this fleet, and count Frontenack, govern- 
our of Canada, was directed to meet him at Penobscot. To 
give full effect to the design, after having destroyed Boston, 
the fleet was to proceed to New- York, from whence the arm) 
was to march by land to Canada. The colonies were struck 
with consternation, and every preparation was made for de- 
fence. But the fleet arrived so late in the season, that the 
design was frustrated, and the colonies released from appre- 
hension. In December of this year, a treaty of peace was 
made between France and England, at Ryswick in Germany, 
and a mutual restoration of conquests took place. 

11. Richard, earl of Bellamont, in 1698, arrived in New- 
York as governour of that province. As the seas had become 
much infested with pirates during the late wars, Bellamont 
was instructed to take measures for their apprehension. To 
effect this object, the earl was appointed to the command of 
not only New- York, but also of New-Hampshire and Mas- 
sachusetts. But neither of the three colonies would afford 
any aid against the pirates, and the governour was obliged to 
have recourse to private adventure to suppress them. 

12. Captain Kid was recommended to the earl as a man 
of courage and integrity, and well acquainted with the pirates 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 185 

and their places of rendezvous, for an agent in the business. 
Kid undertook the expedition, but he had not been long at sea, 
before he turned pirate himself. After some time, he de- 
stroyed his ship, and ventured to appear openly at Boston, 
where he was at length arrested, and sent to England and ex- 
ecuted. A tradition still exists, that he buried great sums of 
money in divers places, and many persons have from time to 
time given themselves much trouble in searching for it. This 
ridiculous search has even been made in places which Kid not 
only never saw, but probably never knew were in existence. 

13. The depredations of the pirates, and the divided state 
of the colony, caused the administration of Bellamont to be 
attended with many difficulties. Fletcher, his predecessor, had 
been warmly opposed to the Leislerian party, and when the 
new governour arrived, all who adhered to that party claimed 
him as their head. Bellamont died in 1701, and was suc- 
ceeded the next year by lord Cornbury ; the government in the 
interim, being administered by Nanfan, the Lieut, governour. 

14. In 1701, William Penn again visited his colony, and 
finding great dissatisfaction among the people, he granted 
them a new charter. By this, the right of originating bills 
was vested in the assembly, as well as of amending or rejec- 
ting those presented to them- The governour had the fight 
of rejecting all bills passed by the assembly, and also to ap- 
point his own council, and to exercise the executive power* 
This charter did not fully appease the discontents of the peo- 
ple, although it was accepted by the assembly. The " terri- 
tories" rejected it entirely. Penn immediately returned to 
England, and the colony was afterward governed by deputies 
appointed by himself. 

15. The government of New- Jersey was surrendered to 
the crown by the proprietors in 1701. The queen accepted 
the surrender, and lord Cornbury was appointed governour. 
The peace of Ryswick continued but a short time. In addi- 
tion to a violation of treaties in regard to European affairs, the 
French began to encroach on the British possessions in Ame- 
rica. Orders were given to Villeborne, governour of Cana- 
da, to claim not only all Acadia, but extend his claim even as 
far as Kennebeck. Orders were also given to prevent the 
English from fishing on the coast, and to seize all vessels so 
employed. In 1702, war was proclaimed by England against 
France and Spain, 



ISO AMERICAN HISTORY . 

16. An expedition against the Spaniards of St. Augustine? 
in Florida, was fitted out by governour Moore, of South Car- 
olina, before he had received official intelligence of the dec- 
laration of war. A party of Indians under the command of 
colonel Daniel, were to proceed by land, while the governour 
and the main body proceeded by water. Daniel fully suc- 
ceeded in his part of the enterprise ; but Moore managed his 
part so injudiciously, that the main object of the expedition 
entirely failed. A great debt was by this means entailed up- 
on Carolina, to discharge which, paper money was issued for 
the first time in the colony. 

17. An expedition against the Appalachian Indians, who 
had been incited to hostilities by the Spaniards, was next un- 
dertaken by governour Moore. This enterprise proved suc- 
cessful, and the towns lying between the Altamaha and the 
Savannah rivers were burned. While these things were do- 
ing in the south, the eastern colonies were engaged with the 
French from Canada. The eastern Indians had indeed pro- 
mised to remain at peace, but hostilities were soon commen- 
ced, and the whole frontier, from Casco to Wells, was one 
scene of devastation. 

18. The town of Deerfield was surprised early in the year 
1704, !>y a party of three hundred French and Indians, under 
the command of Hertel De Rouville. After a march of near 
three hundred miles through the wilderness, in the depth of 
winter, the enemy reached the fort, and finding the snow in 
many places drifted nearly to the top of the palisades, they 
entered the place without much diffic ulty. The inhabitants 
were in a profound slumber, from which the yells of the sava- 
ges and the groans of the dying soon roused them. The 
surprise was complete, and a few only made their escape. 
Forty-seven were killed, and one hundred were carried pri- 
soners to Canada. 

19. At the Penobscot and St. Croix rivers, captain Church, 
who had been despatched with five hundred men, defeated 
the enemy and took many prisoners, among whom was a 
daughter of Baron Castine. In the autumn of the same year, 
the Seine, a large French store ship, with a cargo estimated 
at a million of livres in value, was lost. This disaster great- 
ly hindered the operations of the French, and the colonies re- 
mained in tolerable quiet during the year 1705. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 187 

20. In 1706, the first Episcopal church was established in 
Connecticut, at Stratford. About the same time the colony 
of Carolina was alarmed by rumour of an intended invasion 
by the French and Spaniards. Every exertion was immedi- 
ately made to prepare for defence ; but the work was hardly 
commenced, before a French frigate appeared off the harbour 
of Charleston. The commander of the ship summoned 
the town to surrender, and landed a few troops. But he met 
with so spirited an opposition, that in a few days he made a 
hasty departure, leaving a small party of his men behind, 
who were taken prisoners. 

21. Haverhill, on the Merrimack river, was burned in 
1708. Forty persons were slain, and some taken prisoners. 
New-England, not long before, had set on foot an expedition 
against Port Royal, but nothing important was effected. 
The same year that Haverhill was destroyed, the churches of 
Connecticut met in convention at Saybrook, and framed that 
ecclesiastical constitution, which is known by the name of 
the Saybrook Platform. By a subsequent act of the legisla- 
ture, all the churches which should unite according to this 
constitution, were acknowledged as established by law. 
Other churches were, however, left at liberty to worship ac- 
cording to their dictates of conscience. 

22. A considerable body of Palatines from Germany, who 
had been reduced to indigence by the long wars of that coun- 
try, were sent to America by queen Anne, in 1710, and set- 
tled on the Roanoke, in North Carolina. Here they lived in 
security a few years, but at length the Tuscarora and Coree 
Indians fell upon them, and an indiscriminate massacre fol- 
lowed. A few of the settlers escaping, fled to governour 
Craven, of South Carolina, who sent a thousand men to their 
relief, and the Indians soon sued for peace. 

23. Another expedition against Canada was projected in 
1711, and the colonies were directed to co-operate with the 
fleet sent from England. On the 25th of June, admiral 
Walker, with the expected squadron arrived at Boston. He 
was immediately joined by two regiments of provincial troops, 
which made the whole force amount to seven thousand men, 
beside a large train of artillery. An army of provincials was 
also directed to assemble, at Albany, and to penetrate Cana- 
da by the way of lake Champlain. Colonel Nicholson com- 
manded this division. 



188 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

24. On the 30th of July, the fleet sailed from Boston, and 
on the 20th of August, it reached the mouth of the St. Law- 
rence. Here, a thick fog coming on, several of the trans- 
port ships fell among rocks and islands, and were totally lost. 
One thousand men perished by this disaster. A council of 
war was then called, and the result was, a determination to 
abandon the expedition. The fleet returned to England, and 
the provincial troops to Boston. Nicholson, with the force 
under his command, amounting to four thousand men, ad- 
vanced as far as Wood creek, where, receiving intelligence 
of the return of Walker's squadron, he also abandoned the 
enterprise, and returned to Albany. 

25. In 1715, an Indian war broke out in South Carolina. The 
Yamasees, a powerful tribe living near Savannah river, insti- 
gated by the Spaniards, suddenly attacked the English traders 
among them, all of whom were massacred. They then at- 
tacked the southern frontier, in company with some other 
tribes, and dessolation and death marked their course. The 
Yamasees, Creeks, Appalachians, Congarees, Catawbas and 
Cherokees, were all engaged in this war, and their united 
force amounted to upward of six thousand fighting men. 

26. At a place called the Salt Catchers, governour Cra- 
ven came up with and engaged the savages. The battle was 
obstinate and sanguinary, but the Indians were totally defeated. 
Craven pursued them into their own country, and compel- 
led them to cross the Savannah, and take refuge among the 
Spaniards in Florida, by whom they were cordially received. 
After this, Carolina enjoyed a long period of repose from In- 
dian aggression. 

27. One hundred families from the north of Ireland set- 
tled Londonderry, in New-Hampshire, in 1719. By them, 
the manufacture of linen, the foot spinning-wheel, and the 
culture of potatoes was introduced. The year before, the go- 
vernment of Maryland was restored to lord Baltimore, from 
whom it had been taken by the people of the province. New- 
Orleans was laid out the same year, and so named in honour 
of the duke of Orleans, then the regent of France. 

28. The Aurora Borealis was first noticed in New-Eng- 
land, on the evening of the 17th of December, 1719. The 
people were much alarmed, and many supposed the dissolu- 
tion of nature, and the day of final retribution to be at hand. 
The same year Peter Schuyler was appointed governour of 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 189 

New-York, Commissioners were also delegated to settle 
the line of partition between the colonies of New-York, New- 
Jersey, and Connecticut. 

29. Disputes with regard to bills of credit, a large quantity 
of which had been issued during the war, prevailed at this time 
in Massachusetts. To sustain the value of this paper curren- 
cy, it was proposed to establish a bank ; and whether this 
bank should be a private or a publick one, was the matter in 
dispute. At this juncture, colonel Shute arrived in the colo- 
ny as successor to governour Dudley. He espoused the 
cause of the patfty in favour of a publick bank ; and having ob- 
jected to the speaker of the house of representatives, whom 
that body had chosen, an open rupture soon took place. 
Shute wanted a fixed salary, but the house would not give it. 
although they were willing to compensate him handsomely 
from year to year. The governour soon returned to England. 

30. Mr. Burnet, son of bishop Burnet, in 1720, was ap» 
pointed governour of New- York, in the room of colonel 
Schuyler. The new governour attempted to stop the illicit 
trade carried on between Canada and New- York, much to 
the injury of the latter, and to encourage a direct trade with 
the Indians. For this purpose he built fort Oswego, on lake 
Cataraqui, or Ontario. At this time, the grand plan which 
the French ever had in view, began to be developed. This 
was, to connect by a chain of forts, their possessions in Can* 
ada with those on the Mississippi, and thus confine the Eng- 
lish to the coast. To defeat this scheme, Burnet pursued 
judicious measures, but becoming unpopular, he was remo 
ved in 1727, and appointed governour of Massachusetts. 

31. He was received at Boston with every demonstration 
of respect; and to defray the expenses of his journey, and sup- 
port his rank as governour, the general court voted him the 
sum of ,£1700. But they wholly refused to settle upon him 
any fixed salary, as he had by his instructions been required 
to demand. The governour was much irritated, and threat- 
ened the colony with an appeal to the king. The general 
court prepared a statement of the controversy, with their rea- 
sons for refusing the demand of the governour, and sent it to 
all the towns in the province, who signified their approbation 
of the conduct of their representatives. In the midst of the 
contest Burnet died. 

32. The first settlement of Georgia was made in 1732, a*? 

17 



190 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Yaraacraw bluff, now Savannah. The settlement originated 
in the benevolent design of providing for the great number 
of poor persons in England, a place where they might, with 
industry and economy, obtain a competence. A corporation 
was formed with the title of " Trustees for settling and es- 
tablishing the colony of Georgia," and large sums were raised 
for providing arms, clothing, food, and utensils for the poor, 
who were willing to cross the Atlantick, and also to pay for 
their transportation. General Oglethorpe, one of the trustees, 
was appointed governour. 

33. The southern tribes of Indians could at this time mus- 
ter fourteen thousand two hundred warriours. These tribes, 
governour Oglethorpe made it his first business to propitiate. 
He accordingly called a meeting of the chiefs at Savannah, 
and by means of interpreters, made a treaty with them, and 
obtained assurances of their friendship. 

QUESTIONS 

1. When did Sir William Phipps arrive with a new charter for Mas- 
sachusetts? — 2. When did the delusion repecting witches first appear 
at Salem ? — 3. When did the court hold a special session for the trial of 
witches? — 4. How many persons were executed, and how many im- 
prisoned ? — 5. Who was appointed governour of New-York, 1692? — 
6. Why did William Penn at this time fall under the displeasure of 
king William ? — 7. Which of the colonies suffered most from the wars 
with the savages ? — 8. Who planted themselves on the river Neuse 
about this time? — 9. Who was sent over for the purpose of settling the 
difficulties between the French and English settlers? — 10. What was 
planned by the French in Canada in 1697? — 11. Who was appointed 
governour of New-York 1698? — 12. Who was recommended to him 
as a proper agent to suppress piracy ? — 13. What caused difficulties to 
the administration of Bellamont? — 14. What did William Penn grant 
his colony in 1701? — 15. When was the government of New-Jersey 
surrendered to the crown? — 16. What expedition was fitted out by 
governour Moore? — 17 Against what tribe of Indians did he next un- 
dertake an enterprise ? — 18. What town was surprised by the French 
and Indians, 1704? — 19. What took place at Penobscot and St. Croix 
rivers ? — 20. When was the first Episcopal church established in Con- 
necticut? — 21. Whattown was burned, 1708? — 22. Who were sentto 
America by queen Anne, 1710? — 23. What was projected 1711 ? — 24. 
When did the fleet sail from Boston ?— 25. When did an Indian war 
break out in South Carolina?—- 26. Where did governour Craven en- 
gage and defeatthe savages ? — 27 By whom was Londonderry in New- 
Hampshire settled in 1719 ? — 28. What was first noticed in New-Eng- 
land the 11th of Dec. 1719 ? — 29. What disputes prevailed at this time 
in Massachusetts? — 30. Who was appointed -governour of New-York 
in the place of Schuyler ? — 31. How was he received at Boston ? — 32. 
When and where was the first settlement in Georgia made ? — 33. How 
many men could the southern tribes of Indians muster at this time 7 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 191 



SECTION VL 

OLD FRENCH WAR. CONGRESS AT ALBANY. FRENCH WAR 

OF 1755. 

1. The first settlers of Georgia were many of them poor> 
indolent, and vicious, and though in a short time their num- 
ber amounted to five or six hundred, yet the trustees were 
desirous of introducing colonists of a different character. 
Accordingly, eleven townships were laid out and divided into 
portions of fifty acres each, one of which portions was as- 
signed to each settler. As the effect of this arrangement, a 
large number of emigrants soon arrived from Germany, Scot- 
land, and Switzerland. Still the colony did not flourish ac- 
cording to the anticipations of its founders, and Oglethorpe, 
the governour, went to England for the purpose of devising 
measures to remove the impediments which existed. 

2. The Chickasaw Indians opposed the French in their 
design of proceeding up the Mississippi to unite with their 
settlements in Canada. A body of forces sent from New- 
Orleans, to act in concert with one from the northern settle- 
ments, did not arrive in season, and the Canadian troops pro- 
ceeded alone into the Chickasaw country. Here they were 
attacked by the Indians, who slew sixty and took the remain- 
der of the party prisoners. Four years after, the Indians 
being threatened by a larger force, sued for peace, which was 
granted. — John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist deno- 
mination of Christians, visited Georgia in 1736. In 1738, 
George Whitefield, another celebrated divine arrived in the 
province. The object of the latter was, to found an orphan 
house for the maintenance and education of poor children. 
But the design did not prosper during his life, and after his 
death it was wholly abandoned. 

3. England and Spain now prepared for war. The latter 
strengthened Florida, and the former sent out six hundred 
men to Georgia. Before the commencement of hostilities, the 
Spaniards endeavoured to detach the Indians from the cause 
of the English, but without success. They next made an at- 
tempt upon the fidelity of the blacks in Carolina, promising 
them their liberty if they would escape to St. Augustine. 

4. The blacks, excited by these artifices, collected at Sto- 
no, and forcing a warehouse, possessed themselves of arms 



192 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

and ammunition, and marched southerly. Flushed with the 
.success of their attempt, they were lulled into security, and 
encamping in an open field, gave themselves up to dancing 
and mirth. The whites having in considerable numbers as- 
sembled that day for religious service in the vicinity, and ha- 
ving according to law carried their arms with them, marched 
immediately to attack the negroes, and killing great numbers 
of them, the insurrection was quelled. New-Jersey, in 1738, 
received a separate charter from New- York. The same year, 
a college was founded at Princeton, in New- Jersey, which 
was called Nassau-Hall. 

5. In 1739, war having been declared between England 
and Spain, an expedition was sent from Georgia against St. 
Augustine. But from various causes the enterprise was un- 
successful ; — the troops returned home with considerable 
loss, and Carolina was involved in a burdensome debt. The 
city of Charleston was also burned in 1739, by which calami- 
ty most of its inhabitants were reduced to poverty. The par- 
liament of England being applied to for aid, generously grant- 
ed <£20,000 to the sufferers. 

6. The Spaniards from Havamia invaded Georgia in 1742. 
General Oglethorpe being apprised of the design, hastily 
made preparations for defence. Toward the close of the month 
of June, the Spanish fleet appeared on the coast, and Ogle- 
thorpe judging fort Simons to be indefensible, abandoned it 
and retired to Frederica. Learning from a deserter that the 
Spaniards were divided by jealousy, and that the troops from 
Cuba and those from St» Augustine were encamped in differ- 
ent places, he determined to attack the Spanish camp, and 
accordingly marched for that purpose. 

7. At this moment a French soldier deserted from the 
English line, and firing his musket, fled to the Spanish army. 
This event, as it discovered, entirely frustrated the plan of at- 
tack, and Oglethorpe immediately returned to his former po- 
sition. Fearing that the deserter would disclose his weakness, 
the Gen. devised an expedient whereby the Spaniards were 
deceived, and the danger averted. A letter was written to 
the deserter, directing him to inform the Spaniards of his weak- 
ness, and thus induce them immediately to attack him ; or, if 
this could not be done, to endeavour to detain them in their 
camp, till some assistance which he expected from Europe 
should arrive. This letter, as was designed, fell into tho 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 193 

hands of the Spanish commander, and while he was delibera- 
ting on the information it contained, some vessels of war, 
sent by South Carolina, unknown to Oglethorpe, making their 
appearance, the invading army hastily embarked, leaving be- 
hind all its artillery, provisions, and stores. In 1752, Geor- 
gia relinquished its charter. 

8. In 1744, war again occurred between England and 
France. The French having made attempts to destroy the 
English Cod-fishery, and Louisburg affording a refuge to nu- 
merous French privateers, governour Shirley, of Massachu- 
setts, applied to the English ministry for leave to attempt its 
reduction. He also proposed the plan to the general court 
of the colony, but they judging it too hazardous, refused their 
approbation. But the scheme being discovered, petitions in 
great numbers were sent to the court, praying them to re- 
consider their vote, and accept the proposition of the govern- 
our. This was finally done by a majority of one voice, and 
preparations were made for the enterprise. 

9. Colonel William Pepperell was entrusted with the com- 
mand of the forces appointed for this service, and as a disco- 
very of the design by the French was feared, but a short lime 
was spent in preparation. Commodore Warren, who com- 
manded a fleet in the West Indies, although he had been ap- 
plied to early in the season for assistance, declined furnishing 
it; but soon after, receiving orders from England, he sailed for 
Boston, and with a part of his fleet arrived at Canseau early 
in April. The French as yet were entirely ignorant of the 
design upon Louisburg, and the appearance of the fleet off 
that place caused no small surprise. The English troops ef- 
fected a landing, and after a close siege of forty-eight days, 
the place surrendered. 

10. In 1746, the French, exasperated by the loss of Lou- 
isburg, sent a large fleet, with a considerable land force, 
against the English colonies. Information of its approach 
being communicated, spread consternation and dismay. But 
a contagious and mortal disease breaking out on board the 
fleet, and a severe storm destroying some of the ships, and 
damaging others, nothing was effected, and the expedition 
was abandoned. In 1748, the peace of Aix-k-Chapelle 
restored tranquility to the colonies. According to the terms 
of this peace, all conquests on both sides were restored, and 
Louisburg was again placed in the hands of fhe French 

17* 



t94 AMERICAN HISTORY. 






1 1. In 1750, the Ohio company was formed in England, 
and obtained from the crown a grant of sixty thousand acres 
of land on the Ohio river, and its tributaries. This being a part 
of the country claimed by the French, and in the vicinity of 
which they had already established forts, collisions and jea- 
lousies soon occurred between them and the servants of the 
new company. The governour of Canada threatened to ap- 
prehend the English traders if they did not retire, but no at- 
tention being paid to this menace, several of them were taken 
and carried to the French fort at Presque-Isle. The Ohio 
company made complaint to the governour of Virginia res- 
pecting the depredations of the French, and he so far inter- 
fered as to send an agent with a remonstrance to the French 
commander on the Ohio. 

12. George Washington, at that time a major in the 
Virginia militia, was sent with a letter to the French general, 
requiring him to depart from the territories claimed by the 
English. Washington, after surmounting great difficulties, 
reached the Ohio, and delivered his despatches ; but his mis- 
sion was not attended with the desired success. The French 
continued their aggressions, and it was found necessary by 
*he colonial governments, to assert by force the rights of the 
British crown. Preparations for this purpose were made in 
Virginia by governour Dinwiddie, although no declaration of 
war had as yet been made. 

13. Major Washington, at that time commissioned a colo- 
nel, was appointed to the command of a regiment raised to 
dispossess the French of their usurped territory. The colo- 
nel, having made all necessary preparations, early in the 
spring of 1754, began his march through the wilderness to- 
ward the Ohio* Proceeding as far as the Great Meadows, 
he there learned that the French, having driven the agents 
of the Ohio company from a fort which they were erecting at 
che confluence of the Allegany and Monongahela rivers, had 
appropriated it to their own use, and named it Fort Du Quesne. 
Aided by the Indians, Washington surprised and captured 
the French forces who were encamped a few miles from the 
Great Meadows. The French commander was the only per- 
son killed, and only one person escaped. 

14. On his return to the Meadows, he built a small fort, 
which he called fort Necessity. Having received a re-en- 
forcement ftom North Carolina and New- York, and his forcr 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 195 

amounting now to four hundred men, he marched to attack foil 
Du Quesne. After proceeding to Laurel Hill, thirteen miles 
from the Meadows, he received information that a large bo- 
dy of French and Indians, amounting to fifteen hundred men, 
were marching to attack him. By the advice of a council of 
war, he retired to fort Necessity, but before he could com- 
plete a ditch around it, the enemy appeared, and commenced 
a furious attack. After a hard-fought battle, which lasted from 
morning till night, Washington found himself under the ne- 
cessity of surrendering ; and the troops marching out of the 
fort with the honours of war, returned unmolested to Virginia. 

15. A congress of delegates from seven of the colonies, 
met at Albany in 1757, in order to devise measures for acting 
in concert against the common enemy in the contest which 
w r as evidently approaching. Orders had been sent out from 
England, directing the colonies to cultivate the friendship of 
the Six Nations, and accordingly, while the congress was in 
session, about one hundred and fifty warriours of these tribes 
came to Albany, with whom a treaty was formed, binding 
them to the English interest. A plan of colonial union was 
also formed by the congress, which was, however, rejected 
both by the king and the colonies. The latter, thought the 
plan gave too much power to the crown ; while the former, re- 
jected it because it gave too much power to the people. 

16. General Braddock, with a force of fifteen hundred re- 
gulars, was sent from England in 1755, to aid in the defence 
of the colonies. On his arrival, he summoned a convention 
of the colonial governours to meet him in Virginia, in order 
to concert a plan of operations. Four expeditions were pro- 
posed to be undertaken ; one, led by Braddock against Du 
Quesne ; another, under the command of governour Shirley, 
of Massachusetts, against Niagara ; a third, against Crown 
Point, under the command of generals Johnson and Lyman ; 
while the fourth was to attempt Nova Scotia, under generals 
Monckton and Winslow. The first of these expeditions fai- 
led, and Braddock was slain ; that against Nova Scotia was 
successful, and the country submitted to the English. 

17. Gen. Lyman, while advancing toward Crown Point, 
built fort Edward, near the south end of lake George. Be- 
ing soon after joined by general Johnson, who had remained 
at Albany to forward the artillery and the stores, the whole 
army encamped on the borders of the lake, preparing fo^ 



196 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

crossing it. While in this situation, intelligence was recei" 
ved that a large body of the enemy was advancing to attack 
tort Edward, which was garrisoned by live hundred men un- 
der colonel Blanchard. Colonel Williams was sent with a 
detachment to re-enforce the garrison, but he fell into an am- 
buscade which the French had prepared to intercept him, and 
which was completely successful. Colonel Williams and 
many of his men were slain, and the survivors, panick-struck. 
tied to the English encampment. 

18. The French army now attacked the camp with great 
fury, but meeting with a warm reception, they were obliged 
to retire. Seven hundred were killed, and thirty made pri- 
soners, among whom was baron Dieskau, the French com- 
mander. The next day after the attack upon the camp, a 
detachment under captain M'Ginnes discovered a party of 
the enemy amounting to four hundred men, sitting by a pond 
near the place where colonel Williams had been defeated. 
M'Ginnes, though his force was inferiour, immediately attack- 
ed them, and after a severe action, entirely routed them. Af- 
ter erecting a fort at lake George, named fort William Hen- 
ry, the enterprise against Crown Point was abandoned for 
that season. That against Niagara was also laid aside, after 
the troops had waited some weeks at Oswego for supplies. 

19. In 1756, a formal declaration of war between France 
and England took place. Governour Shirley, after the defeat 
and death of general Braddock, was appointed to the supreme 
military command. He proposed to the colonies to under- 
take two expeditions, — one against Crown Point, and the 
other against Du Quesne. But before either of these enter- 
prises were commenced, Shirley was superseded, and Aber- 
crombie appointed in his place. In 1756, the earl of Lou- 
don was appointed governour of Virginia, and commander- 
in-chief of all the British forces in America. Still the same 
inactivity prevailed as during the previous year, and the 
French not only had time to make preparation for war, but 
to commence operations. 

20. On the 14th of August, 1756, the fort at Oswego sur- 
rendered to the French under the marquis de Montcalm, go- 
vernour of Canada. General Webb had been ordered to 
march to the relief of the garrison at that post, but as he did 
not leave Albany till the 12th of August, he had not advan- 
ced farther than Wood creek, when he received information. 



MODERN HISTORY. 197 

that the fort had capitulated. By the loss of Oswego, the 
English were dispossessed of the command of the lakes Erifc 
and Ontario, and also of the whole country of the Six Na- 
tions. Lord Loudon now pretending that the season was too 
far advanced for active operations, devoted the time to ma- 
king preparation for an early campaign the next year, 

21. The ensuing summer, the French, under Montcalm, 
besieged fort William Henry with a force of five hundred 
men. General Webb was at this time lying at fort Edward 
with five thousand men under his command, while the num- 
ber of the garrison amounted to twenty-two hundred provin- 
cials and regulars, under command of colonel Monroe. The 
siege commenced the 3d of August, and lasted till the 9th. 
Monroe, having frequently sent to Webb for aid, but in vain, 
then found it necessary to capitulate. By the terms granted, the 
troops were to retain their arms and be escorted to fort Edward. 

22. Immediately after the French had taken possession of 
the fort, a most horrid massacre of the English troops was 
commenced by the Indians. Colonel Monroe complained of 
this violation of the terms of capitulation, but in vain. At 
length the garrison left the fort, but without the stipulated es- 
cort. The Indians again commenced the work of butchery, 
which the French not only witnessed, but witnessed without 
any endeavour to prevent it. General Webb en being infor- 
med of the surrender of the fort, sent a detachment to meet 
the captured troops, and the escort ; but to his great surprise, 
he met only single individuals, or small parties flying through 
the woods in a state of the greatest apprehension and distress, 
and some even in a state of delirium. 

23. The celebrated William Pitt, afterward earl of Chat- 
ham, was now placed at the head of the English ministry. 
His character was well known in America, and extremely 
popular ; and the first measures of his administration evinc- 
ing a determination to prosecute the war with vigour, he be- 
came a great favourite with the people. The colonies wera 
called upon to raise as large quotas of troops as the popula- 
tion of each would admit, and to make every preparation 
within the compass of their resources. The provincial army 
was therefore increased to twenty thousand men : and early 
in the year 1758, a powerful fleet under admiral Boscawen, 
conveying twelve thousand regulars under general Amherst ? 
was sent out. 



198 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

24. Three expeditions were planned for the campaign oi 
1758. One of these was directed against Louisburg, ano- 
ther against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and the third 
against Du Quesne. The force destined to act against Lou- 
isburg amounted to fourteen thousand men, under the com- 
mand of general Amherst ; and admiral Boscawen was di- 
rected to co-operate with twenty sail of the line, and eighteen 
frigates. On the 24th of May, the army embarked at Hali- 
fax, and on the 2d of June, arrived before Lauisburg. The 
siege was pressed with great vigour and success, and on 
the 6th of July, the governour found it necessary to ca- 
pitulate. 

25. General Abercrombie, with sixteen thousand men, 
conducted the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point, accompanied by lord Howe, a gallant and amiable of- 
ficer. On the 5th of July, the army passed lake George, 
and landed without opposition from the French, who deserted 
their camp, and made a hasty retreat. Abercrombie then 
advanced toward Ticonderoga, through an almost impervi- 
ous wilderness, and with very unskillful guides. Near the fort 
a slight skirmish with the enemy occurred, and lord Howe 
was killed. The troops, by whom he was greatly beloved, 
moved forward impetuously to the attack, determined to 
avenge his death. Three hundred of the French were slain, 
and one hundred made prisoners. 

26. The English commander, fearing that the enemy 
might be re-enforced, determined to storm the fort, without 
even waiting for his artillery. The troops were immediately 
led to the attack ; but after, a contest of four hours, they 
were obliged to retire with the loss of near two thousand men, 
in killed and wounded. The French loss was not great, as 
they were protected by the works. Abercrombie, after this re- 
pulse, returned to his former position near lake George, from 
whence he detached colonel Bradstreet with three thousand 
men to attack fort Frontenack, which surrendered on the 27th 
of August, after a siege of two days. The reduction of this 
fortress, as it contained the stores designed for the Indians 
and the southwestern troops of the French, greatly facilitated 
the capture of fort Du Quesne, which was taken without op- 
position on the 25th of November, the same year. 

27. The entire subjugation of Canada was the object of 
the campaign of 1759. The army was divided into three 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 199 

parts, each of which was to enter Canada by a different route, 
and attack simultaneously the three strong holds of the 
French, viz : Niagara, Quebec, Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point. The first, after sustaining a vigorous siege, surren- 
dered to general Prideaux ; and the last was deserted by the 
enemy on the approach of the English under general Amherst, 
who, instead of following up his success, retired to Crown 
Point, and put his troops into winter quarters. 

28. Brigadier Gen. Wolfe, who had greatly distinguished 
himself at the siege of Louisburg, was appointed to conduct 
the expedition against Quebec. As soon as the navigation of 
the St. Lawrence was open, he sailed from Louisburg with 
eight thousand men, and after a favourable voyage, anchoring 
near the isle of Orleans, which lies below Quebec, he effect- 
ed a landing without much opposition. Here he viewed the 
fortifications, which appeared of such strength and magnitude, 
that success, even to his ardent and fearless mind, appeared 
doubtful. 

29. Quebec is situated on the northern bank of the St. 
Lawrence, and on the west side of the river St. Charles. 
There are two towns, distinguished as the upper and lower. 
The latter is built at the base of the lofty rock on which the 
former is situated, and which with a bold and majestick front 
extends far to the west, rendering the city impregnable on that 
side. The St. Charles river has a rough and broken channel, 
with steep and high banks. A little below is the river Mont- 
morency, between which and the St. Charles the French ar- 
my was encamped. 

30. After making several fruitless attempts to annoy the 
city, he took possession of Point Levi, on the bank of the ri- 
ver opposite the town, and from that position cannonaded the 
city. But the distance was so great that little effect was pro- 
duced. He therefore determined to break up his camp and 
endeavour to land above it ; and having embarked his army, 
the fleet moved up the river. He now discovered that the 
fortifications were not so strong on that side of the city as on 
the other, and that a narrow path leading to the plain on the 
top of the precipice, was guarded only by a captain's guard. 
Having during the night landed his army near this path, 
his whole force succeeded in reaching the heights of Abraham 
by morning ; and being drawn up in order of battle, presented 
themselves to the astonished French. 



200 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

31. Montcalm, the French commander, now prepared for 
a battle which he foresaw would decide the fate of Canada, 
He accordingly left his camp on the Montmorency, and ad- 
vanced to attack the English army. Wolfe, who perceived 
all the movements of his opponent, drew up his forces in or- 
der of battle, taking post himself on the right, as Montcalm 
had done on the left. Thus the two commanders were op- 
posed one to the other. The French marched briskly to the 
attack, but the English reserving their fire till the enemy were 
near, gave it with great effect. 

32. Wolfe and Montcalm were both mortally wounded in 
the very commencement of the action. The former, on re- 
ceiving his wound, was carried into the rear, where hearing 
the distant shout, "They fly! they fly!" eagerly inquired, 
" Who fly?" Being answered "the French;" then said he, 
" I die content !" and almost immediately expired. Mont- 
calm, when told that he could survive but a few hours, said, 
a So much the better ; I shall not live to see the surrender of 
Quebec." The French army being defeated, the city ca- 
pitulated two days after the battle ; and the next year the 
whole of Canada submitted to the English arms, and thus 
terminated for ever the power of the French in the northern 
parts of America. In 1763, the treaty of Paris put an end to 
the war, and the colonies were delivered from a near and pow- 
erful enemy. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What is said of the first settlers of Georgia? — 2. Who opposed 
the French in their design of proceeding up the Mississippi ? — 3. What 
nations now prepared for war ? — 4. Who were excited to an insurrec- 
tion by the Spaniards, and assembled at Stono ? — 5. What expedition 
was sent from Georgia in 1789 ? — 6. Who invaded Georgia in 1742?- 
7. What took place at the moment that Oglethorpe was about to 
attack the Spanish camp? — 8. When did war again occur between 
England and France ? — 9. Who was entrusted with the command of 
the forces sent against Louisburg? — 10. What did the French do 
in 1746? — 11. What company was formed in England in 1750? — 12. 
Who was sent by the Gov. of Virginia, to the French commander on 
the Ohio with a letter ? — 13. Who commanded the forces sent to dis- 
lodge the French from the Ohio ? — 14. What fort did he build at the 
Great Meadows ?— 15.— What met at Albany in 1754?— 16. Who was 
sent from England to aid in the defence of the colonies ? — 17. What 
fort did general Lyman build near the south end of lake George? — 18. 
What did the French army now do ? — 19. What took place in 1756? — 
20. When did the fort at Oswego surrender to the French ? — 21. What 
did the French do the ensuing summer ? — 22. What took place jrnmc- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 201 

diately after the French had taken possession of the fort?— 23. Who 
was placed at the head of the English ministry ? — 24. How many ex- 
peditions were planned for the campaign of 1758? — 25. Who conduct- 
ed the expedition against Crown Point? — 26. What did the English 
commander determine to do ? — 27 What was the object of the cam- 
paign of 1759?— 28. Who was appointed to conduct the expedition 
against Quebec ?— 29. How is Quebec situated ?— 30. What did Wolfe 
do after making several attempts to annoy the city ? — 31. What did 
Montcalm the French commander do after the English had ascended 
the heights ? — 32. Who were mortally wounded in the commencement 
of the action? 



SECTION VII. 

STAMP ACT. FIRST CONGRESS. COMMENCEMENT OF THE 
REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 

1 . By the late war, England found that though she had gained 
immense territories to her empire, she had also added the im- 
mense amount of three hundred and twenty millions of pounds 
to her debt. To obtain the means of defraying the annual 
interest of this sum, and to meet the other exigences of the 
state, was a task imposed upon her legislators both difficult 
and perplexing. A regard for their own popularity and in- 
terest, led to the wish of avoiding, if possible, the imposition 
of the whole burden upon the mother country, and as the 
colonies were greatly benefitted by the issue of the war, it 
seemed but just that they should defray a part of the expense. 
2. A system of colonial taxation was therefore resolved on, 
and the ministers eagerly seized the first favourable opportu- 
nity for carrying their plan into execution. At this time 
the general opinion in Europe was, that colonies were depend- 
ant upon the will of the parent country ; the inhabitants a 
subordinate and distinct class of subjects, and that their in- 
terests were only to be considered in subserviency to her 
prosperity. In this view of the matter the parliament of 
England had already enacted laws of navigation and trade, 
by which the commerce of the colonies was made to centre 
in Britain. ' The restrictions thus imposed on her commerce, 
had already awakened the jealousy and the fears of New- 
England, and the spirit thus aroused, had manifested itself 
sufficiently plain, to indicate the danger which might arise 
rom any arbitrary measures. 
18 



202 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

3. Sugar, coffee, indigo, and some other articles, were 
now charged with additional duties. At the same time that 
the resolutions imposing these duties were moved in parlia- 
ment, Mr. Grenvilie, the prime minister, notified his intention 
of proposing at the next session of parliament, " certain stamp 
duties on the colonies." As it was for seen that much oppo- 
sition would be excited in the colonies by thy proposed mea- 
sure, and the law evaded and disregarded, extraordinary 
means were used to enforce it, and an act passed directing 
that all penalties incurred by a violation of any of the revenue 
laws, might be recoverable in the courts of admiralty. 

4. The effect of these proceedings was to spread dismay 
and alarm through the colonies. They were viewed as the 
beginning of a system of oppression, which eventually would 
deprive them of the rights of British subjects. At the J urn 
session, the general court of Massachusetts took into con 
sideration the late acts of parliament imposing the new duties 
and especially the proposed stamp act. Instructions were 
sent to the agent of the colony in London, directing him t 
remonstrate both against the duties already imposed, and als 
against those in contemplation. The colony of Virginia also 
prepared to address the king ; and in all the provinces asso- 
ciations were formed encouraging the disuse of all articles of 
British manufacture. 

5. On the 22d of March, 1765, the proposed stamp 
act was passed. Great opposition was made by several 
members of parliament to the bill, among the most distinguish- 
ed of whom was colonel Barre. But his arguments and his 
eloquence were of no avail ; the act was passed, and received 
the approbation of the crown. Dr. Franklin, who was then 
in London, as agent for Pennsylvania, wrote to Charles 
Thompson, his friend in America ; — " The sun of liberty is 
set ; you must light up the candles of industry and economy.' 7 
"Be assured," replied Mr. Thompson, "we shall light up torch- 
es of quite another sort." 

6. In opposition to the obnoxious law, Virginia led the 
way. The burgesses of that colony were in session when 
the intelligence arrived of the passage of the act, and Patrick 
Henry, a member of the assembly, and a distinguished orator, 
immediately proposed five resolutions for adoption. The 
four first of these asserted the rights and privileges of the 
colonists, and the fifth denied the right of the British parlia- 



u 

I 

e 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 203 

inent to tax America. At the same time, in all the colonies, 
the flame of opposition burst forth, and a feeling of general 
indignation pervaded the country. Letters from the assem- 
bly of Massachusetts were addressed to the other colonial 
assemblies, proposing that deputies should be sent from each 
colony to meet in congress, in order to consult upon the 
general interests. 

7. On the first Tuesday of October, 1765, the proposed 
congress met in the city of New- York, at which were pre- 
sent delegates from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecti- 
cut, New-Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and 
South Carolina. The first act of the congress was, a decla- 
ration of rights, in which they asserted that the inhabitants of 
the colonies were entitled to all the privileges of persons born 
in Great Britain ; and as the most essential of these, they 
enumerated the right to tax themselves, and the privilege of 
trial by jury. The congress also agreed upon a petition to 
the king, and a memorial to both houses of parliament. 

8. Non-importation agreements, and a suspension of all 
proceedings in courts of justice were proposed, in order to 
render unavailing the obnoxious acts. In the mean time, the 
ministry of England was changed ; and as it was perceived 
that the statutes of which the Americans complained, must 
either be repealed, or that they must be enforced by arms, a 
proposition to repeal, was laid before parliament. Mr. Gren- 
ville, who had proposed the stamp duties, opposed the mo- 
tion for repeal, in which opposition he was joined by several 
other distinguished members. On that side of the question 
it was urged, that to repeal the act would be a degradation of 
the government, and an encouragement of rebellion- 

9. Mr. Pitt, lord Camden, and some others, advoc ated the 
motion for a repeal. The former, m an eloquent and powerful 
speech, exposed the folly and injustice of the measures' adopt- 
ed ; and in the course of his remarks, vindicated America 
from the charge of ingratitude, which some of the opposite 
side had attempted to fix upon her. The stamp act was fi- 
nally repealed ; but at the same time, another was passed, 
declaring " that parliament have, and of right ought to have, 
the right to bind the colonies in all cases whatever." This 
declaration greatly diminished the joy with which the Ameri- 
cans would otherwise have received the information of the 
repeal of the stamp act. 



204 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

10. New taxes on tea, glass, paper, and other articles, 
were imposed in 1767. This measure produced a circular 
from the general court of Massachusetts, inviting the other 
colonies to act in concert in seeking a redress of their grie- 
vances. These proceedings and this opposition greatly 
alarmed and irritated the ministry ; and Sir John Bernard, 
then governour of Massachusetts, was directed to require the 
general court to rescind their circular letter, which, by a vote 
of ninety-two to seventeen, they refused to do, and the go- 
vernour according to his instructions dissolved them. 

11. Approaching war was indicated by the affairs of the col- 
onies, at the commencement of the year 1768. The agent 
of Massachusetts was refused admission into the presence of 
the king, and governour Bernard refused to convene the gen- 
eral court of the province, though earnestly requested to by all 
ranks of men. But these attempts to intimidate the colonies 
only strengthened their opposition. The non-importation 
agreements which had lately been abandoned, were again 
more generally adopted, and a convention of delegates from 
every town in Massachusetts met at Boston, and its acts were 
received with the same respect as those of a legal assembly. 

12. General Gage, the commander-in-chief of all the regu- 
lar troops in the colonies, was ordered to station a regimen* of 
troops at Boston, not only to overawe the people, but to pro- 
tect the revenue officers in the discharge of their duty. On 
the 28th of September, two regiments of troops, and seven 
armed vessels arrived at Boston from Halifax. The authori- 
ties of the town were ordered to provide quarters for the 
troops, but they refused, and the governour commanded the 
state house to be opened for their accommodation. All the 
rooms except one, which was reserved for the councrl, were 
filled, and two pieces of cannon were placed before the en- 
trance. 

13. An affray between the soldiers and some of the inha- 
bitants of the town of Boston took place on the 5th of March, 
1770, in which four persons were killed. The town and 
the neighbouring country were alarmed, and the soldiers, to 
avoid the popular fury, were obliged to retire into the castle. 
A court was instituted for the trial of the soldiers who fired 
upon the people, and all, except two, who were found guilty 
of manslaughter, were acquitted. John Adams and Josiah 
Quincy, both noted for their resistance of British aggression 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 205 

were the advocates for the accused, and the readiness with 
which they engaged in the cause, was equally honourable to 
themselves and to their country. 

14. All the increaseo duties except those on tea, were 
about this time removed by parliament, which showed in all 
its conduct a mixture of obstinacy and timidity, peculiarly 
characteristick of that period. The duty on tea would also 
have been relinquished, had it not been deemed proper to re- 
tain it in order to assert the sup testacy of the parliament over 
the colonies. The non importation agreements were chang- 
to meet the altered statutes, and tea only was banished from 
the country. 

15. About this time, three ships laden with tea arrived at 
Boston. The captains of these ships apprehending danger 
from the highly excited state of the publick mind, offered to 
return without landing the tea, provided a clearance could 
be obtained from the custom house ; but the officers of that 
establishment refused to grant the necessary papers, and the 
vessels remained in the harbour. The people of Boston, 
fearing that if the ships remained, some part of their cargoes 
would find its way into the country, determined to remove 
the danger at once, and in a summary manner. For this 
purpose, seventy or eighty persons, some of whom were dis- 
guised so as to appear like Indians, went on board the ships, 
and breaking open the chests, emptied their contents into the 
water. The number of chests thus destroyed, amounted to 
three hundred and forty-two. 

16. As a punishment for this spirited conduct, parliament 
imposed a fine upon the citizens of Boston equal to the value 
of the tea destroyed, and shut the port by an armed force, till 
it should be paid. An act was also passed, giving tc the 
crown the appointment of counsellors, removing the custom 
house to Salem, and appointing general Gage governour, in 
the place of governour Hutchinson. Gage having summon- 
ed the general court to meet at Salem, their first act after 
they came together was, to resolve that a congress of dele- 
gates from all the colonies was necessary* and to appoint 
Janies Bowdoin, Thomas Cushing, Samuel Adams, John 
Adams, and Robert Treat Paine, men distinguished for their 
talents and opposition to England, to represent the colony of 
Massachusetts, in that assembly. 

17. Gage, learning their proceedings, sent an officer to 

18* 



206 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

dissolve them, who, finding the door closed, and entrance de- 
nied, was compelled to read the order aloud on the stair- 
case. The inhabitants of Salem, far from manifesting a spi- 
rit hostile to the people of Boston, published a declaration, in 
which they asserted, that could they for a moment think of 
taking advantage of the distress of the latter, to increase their 
own wealth, they should consider themselves lost to every 
sentiment of justice and humanity. The other colonies sym- 
pathized with Massachusetts, and eleven of them approved of 
her proposal for a general congress, and nominated their del- 
egates ; Georgia and N. Carolina yet remained undecided. 

18. On the 4th of September, 1774, the first general con- 
gress assembled at Philadelphia. Of this most important de- 
liberative body ever convened in America, Peyton Randolph. 
Esq., of Virginia, was chosen president. Upon this congress 
the eyes of all, both in the old and new world, were turned 
with the utmost anxiety. The officers of the British crown, 
justly alarmed at the calm and collected spirit which the co- 
lonies manifested, awaited, with dread, the results of the deli- 
berations of their delegates. 

19. Congress resolved that each colony, whatever might 
be the number of its delegates, should have but one vote, and 
that the sittings should be with closed doors. Their first 
measure was to express a decided approbation of the conduct 
of Massachusetts ; to exhort that colony to perseverence in 
the cause of liberty, and to direct that contributions should be 
made in all the provinces for the relief of the citizens of Bos- 
ton. They next addressed a letter to general Gage ; drew 
up and adopted a bill of rights ; sent a petition to the king ; 
and an address to the people of England. In all these docu- 
ments, they expressed their readiness to obey all commands 
of the crown which did not infringe their rights ; but at the 
iiame time declared their unalterable determination to resist 
every attempt to take from them any of their privileges as 
Englishmen. 

20. The party distinctions of Whigs and Tories, was first 
made in America about this time. The former favoured the 
colonies, the latter supported the demands of the crown. 
Gen. Gage having assembled a considerable body of troops 
at Boston, thought it prudent to fortify the neck of land 
which unites that city with the continent, and to seize the 
gunpowder, ammunition, and arms, stored at Cambridge and 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 207 

Charlestown. The general court of Massachusetts having 
assembled about this time, the governour forbade its sitting ; 
but disregarding his order, the court resolved itself into a 
provincial congress, and adjourned from Salem to Concord. 

21. April 19, 1775, at Lexington was shed the first blood 
in the war of the revolution. Gen. Gage having received 
intelligence that the provincials had deposited a large quan- 
tity of stores at Concord, a small town twenty miles from 
Boston, sent a detachment of eight hundred men under colo- 
nel Smith and major Pitcairn, to destroy them. Having ad- 
vanced as far as Lexington, five miles from Concord, the de- 
tachment found a small body of militia drawn up to oppose 
its progress. Major Pitcairn rode up to the provincials, and 
ordered them to disperse. Not being instantly obeyed, he 
ordered his men to fire. Eight of the militia fell, and the rest 
dispersed. The British proceeded to Concord, and destroy- 
ed the stores ; but on their return they were greatly annoyed 
by the inhabitants, who fired upon them from behind stone 
walls, fences, barns, &c, so that their loss during the retreat., 
amounted to two hundred and seventy-three, wounded, kill- 
ed, and missing. 

22. The provincials believing an appeal to arms inevitable^ 
projected an expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown 
Point. Colonel Ethan Allen, of Vermont, and Benedict Aiv 
nold, of Connecticut, were appointed to head the expedition 3 
aided by two hundred and seventy volunteers from those two 
provinces. Both forts were surprised and captured without 
bloodshed, and thus was obtained the command of the lakes, 
and the possession of one hundred pieces of cannon, and other 
munitions of war. 

23. On the 10th of May, 1775, the second congress as- 
sembled at Philadelphia. As the general sentiment was, that a 
reconciliation might still be effected, congress once more ad- 
dressed the king by humble petition ; but at the same time, 
not having much confidence in its success, they issued bills 
of credit to the amount of $3,000,000 for meeting the ex- 
penses of the war. In Virginia, lord Dunmore, the govern- 
our, seized some powder belonging to the colony, and con- 
veyed it on board of a ship of war lying in James river. Pat- 
rick Henry putting himself at the head of a few companies of 
militia, marched to Williamsburg, and compelled the governour 
to pay the value of the powder. 



203 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

24. The last of May, general Gage having received a 
powerful re-enforcement from England, proclaimed martial 
law in the colony of Massachusetts. At the same time, he 
offered pardon to all who would return to their allegiance, ex- 
cept Samuel Adams and John Hancock. This measure, 
instead of dividing and intimidating as it was designed, only 
increased the indignation ot the Americans, and stimulated 
them to activity in preparing for resistance. 

25. On the 16th of June, 1775, the provincials determined 
to fortify themselves on Breed's Hill, in order that they might 
annoy the British in Boston, and prevent them from issuing 
out into the country. The detachment sent for this purpose, 
laboured with such diligence that by the dawn of day, they 
had completed a strong redoubt. As soon as the morning 
dawned, the British perceiving what the Americans had done, 
commenced a heavy cannonade upon the new fortification 
from their ships. Not intimidated, the provincials continued 
their labour till they had completed a breast-work, reaching 
eastward from the hill to the water. 

26. In order to dislodge the provincials, general Gage sent 
general Howe with a force of three thousand men, compos- 
ing the flower of the British army, to attack them. They left 
Boston in boats, and landed at Charlestown. Forming as 
soon as they landed, they marched slowly up the hill, fre- 
quently halting to allow the artillery time to demolish the 
American works. While advancing, the better to protect 
the troops, the village of Charlestown, containing about four 
hundred buildings, was set on fire and consumed. The 
Americans waited in silence the approach of the regulars, 
till they came within ten rods of the redoubt, and then open- 
ing upon them a deadly fire, threw them into confusion. Af- 
ter being twice repulsed, they attacked the redoubt, and the 
Americans having spent their ammunition, were forced to re- 
treat. 

27. The British loss in this action amounted to one thou- 
sand and fifty-four killed and wounded ; the American to four 
hundred and fifty. The latter had to regret the loss of gene- 
ral Joseph Warren, an officer greatly esteemed for his many 
virtues. He was slain near the close of the engagement by 
an English officer who knew him. Though the British re- 
mained in possession of the field of battle, yet the provincials 
claimed the victory, and the question was triumphantly asked. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 209 

how many such successes the English could afford ? By the 
result of this action the confidence of the provincial troops 
in their own strength was greatly increased, while the British 
were convinced they were opposed by a resolute foe. 

28. On the 15th of June, two days before the battle of 
Bunker's Hill, congress appointed George Washington 
commander-in-chief of the American armies. At the same 
time, Artemas Ward, of Massachusetts, colonel Lee, former- 
ly an officer in the British service, Philip Schuyler, of New- 
York, and Israel Putnam, of Connecticut, were appointed 
major generals, and Horatio Gates adjutant general. Soon 
after his appointment, Washington repaired to the army at 
Cambridge. He found it posted on the heights around Boston, 
with a line extended from Roxbury on the right, to the river 
Mystick on the left, while the British occupied Boston Neck, 
together with Bunker and Breed's Hills. 

29. The first care of Washington, was, to inure the army 
to subordination and military discipline, to both of which it 
was a stranger. He requested congress to appoint a commis- 
sary-general and a paymaster-general ; formed the soldiers 
into brigades ; kept a number of the most active ment con- 
stantly employed in learning to manage the artillery ; and in 
a short time, by his talents and efforts, organized the army, and 
rendered it fit for service. In June, Georgia united in the 
opposition to British aggression. About this time also, a 
general post office was established, and a mail route opened 
from Falmouth in New-England, to Savannah in Georgia. 
Dr. Franklin was appointed the first Postmaster-general. 

30. Congress now determined to send a force into Cana- 
da, in order to close the northern frontier against the British. 
Two parties were accordingly sent out under the command 
of generals Schuyler, Montgomery, and Arnold. The two 
former were to proceed by the way of Ticonderoga and 
Crown Point ; the latter, by the river Kennebeck. The par- 
ty under Schuyler and Montgomery reached St. Johns, which 
surrendered; and Montgomery proceeded to Montreal, which 
also capitulated. Arnold and his party, after enduring al- 
most incredible hardships, arrived before Quebec, and being 
joined by Montgomery, made an attack on the city, but failed. 
Arnold was wounded and Montgomery was killed. 

31. About this time, Falmouth, in Massachusetts, and 
Bristol, in Rhode Island, were burned by the British. The 



210 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Americans were excited by these and some other outrages; 
to turn their attention to their navy. Massachusetts granted 
letters of marque and reprisal ; congress fitted out several 
frigates, while Washington sent several cruisers to intercept 
the store-ships of the enemy. By these measures, the spi- 
rit of adventure was awakened, and privateers soon swarmed 
upon the American coast. Captain Manly, of Marblehead. 
greatly distinguished himself in these privateering exploits. 

32. Lord Dumnore, of Virginia, in November, issued a 
proclamation offering freedom to such of the blacks as should 
enlist under the royal standard. Several hundred of them in 
consequence, ran away from their masters, and repaired to 
Yorktown. A body of the Virginia militia immediately as- 
sembled, and defeated a large number of tories, regulars, and 
negroes, who were marching to attack them. Lord Dun- 
more, followed by his white and black troops, embarked on 
board one of his majesty's ships, and repaired to Norfolk. 
Here, he demanded a supply of provisions, which not being 
granted, he set fire to the town and destroyed it. 

33. Parliament now passed laws prohibiting all intercourse 
with the revolted colonies, and hired oi the landgrave of Hesse 
Cassel and other German princes, seventeen thousand men to 
aid in reducing the rebels, as they were termed, to submis- 
sion. At this time the situation of the American army was 
such as was calculated to fill even the most enthusiastick 
mind with despondency. On the last day of December, when 
the old army was to be disbanded, only nine thousand six 
hundred and fifty men were enlisted for the ensuing campaign. 
Through the influence, however, of a bounty offered by con- 
gress, the regular army, by the middle of February, amounted 
to fourteen thousand men. 

34. On the 17th of March, 1776, the British evacuated 
Boston, and sailed for Halifax, taking with them such of the 
loyalists as preferred to follow the royal standard. The British 
were forced to evacuate the town, or risk a general engage- 
ment, in consequence of the measures pursued by Washing- 
ton. On the night of the 4th of March, he caused a redoubt to 
be erected on Dorchester heights, by which the British found 
their shipping exposed to destruction. A detachment was 
sent to dislodge the Americans, but a violent storm of wind 
and rain rendered the undertaking impracticable, and it was 
therefore abandoned. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 21 1 

35. On the 1st of June, 1776, the British fleet came to 
anchor in the harbour of Charleston, South Carolina, and on 
the 28th attacked the American fort on Sullivan's Island, 
The troops in this fort amounted to four hundred men, under 
the command of colonel Moultrie. The fire from the British 
shipping commenced early in the day, and continued till dark; 
but Moultrie and his troops returned the fire with such spirit 
and success, that the British were repulsed and forced to 
abandon their design. Their loss was two hundred men ; 
that of the Americans no more than twenty. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. How large a sum did England add to her national debt by the 
French war ?— 2. Upon what did the ministry now resolve? — 3. What 
articles were charged with additional duties ? ■— 4. What was the effect 
of these proceedings ? — 5. When was the stamp act passed ? — 6. In op- 
position to this act what colony led the way ? — 7. What took place on 
the first Tuesday in October, 1765? — 8. What were proposed in order 
to render unavailing the obnoxious acts ?— 9. Who advocated a repeal 
of the stamp act ? — 10. What new taxes were imposed in 1767? — 1L 
What did the affairs of the colonies indicate at the commencement of 
the year 1768 ?— 12. What was general Gage ordered to do? — 13, 
What took place at Boston on the 5th of March, 1770?— -14. What du- 
ties were removed by parliament about this time ? — 15. What arrived 
at Boston at this time ? — 16. What did parliament do to punish the in- 
habitants of Boston for their spirited conduct ? — -17. What did Gage 
do when he learned the proceedings of the general court? — 18. When 
did the first general congress meet at Philadelphia ? — 19. What did 
congress resolve? — 20, What party distinction was first made about 
this time ? — 21. When and where was shed the first blood of the revo» 
lution ? — 22. What expedition did the provincials project ? — 23. What 
took place on the tenth of May, 1775?— 24. What on the last of May ? 
25. What on the 16th of June ?— 26. What did Gage do to dislodge the 
provincials from Breed's Hill ? — 27. What was the British and Amer- 
ican loss in this action ? — 28. What did congress do on the fifteenth of 
June ?— 29. What was the first care of Washington ?— 30. What did 
congress now determine to do? — 31. What towns did the British burn 
about this time ?— 32. What did lord Dunmore of Virginia do in No- 
vember ?— 33. What laws did parliament now pass ? — 34. When did the 
British evacuate Boston? — 35. Where did the British fleet anchor on 
the first of June, 1776? 

SECTION VIII. 

DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. TREATY WITH FRANCE. 

1. On the 4th of July, 1776, the American Declaration of 
Independence was published to the world, and the reasons 



212 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

assigned why the colonies withdrew their allegiance from the 
crown of Great Britain. This event, while it exalted Amer- 
ica in the eyes of the world, impressed a new character upon 
the contest. Under the solemn and deliberate sanction of 
congress, it was no longer a contest of subjects against their 
king, or of "children against their parents ;" but of men, and 
of freemen, contending for rights of which they knew the val- 
ue and the limits ; of men who had coolly estimated the cost, 
and were willing to abide the event of their undertaking. The 
declaration of independence also contributed to unite the colo- 
nies ; for they all felt that the Rubicon was now passed, and 
that to conquer or die was all that remained. 

2. Staten Island was occupied by the British commanders 
early in July, with an army amounting to near thirty thousand 
men. Impressed with the idea that this display of power had 
intimidated the Americans, lord Howe, the English comman- 
der-in-chief, thought proper to make overtures of peace. He 
therefore issued a proclamation of pardon to all who would 
return to their duty ; and promising great rewards to all who 
should assist in aiding to re-establish the royal authority. His 
overtures not producing the expected eiieets, Howe next ad- 
dressed a letter to " George Washington, Esq." This letter 
Washington returned unopened, declaring that as it was not 
addressed to him in his official station, he could not receive it, 
and that as a private citizen, he could not hold any commu- 
nication with the servants of the king. 

3. The British commanders now directed all their efforts 
to the capture of New-York. This post once gained, both 
parties foresaw would give the English a firm footing in 
America, and enable them to annoy New-England as well as 
as to keep the more southern colonies in awe. It was also 
expected that general Carleton, who commanded in Canada, 
would, by passing the lakes and down the Hudson, form a 
junction with Howe, and thus divide the eastern and south- 
ern colonies. But unforeseen causes prevented the execu- 
tion of these plans, and Washington was not compelled to di- 
vide his army in order to counteract them. 

4. The American army nominally consisted of twenty- 
seven thousand men ; but a quarter of these were unfit for 
service, and another quarter were poorly supplied with arms. 
From these and some other causes, the whole effective force 
<lid not amount to much more than ten thousand men, ajid 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 213 

Uiese not well disciplined. One division of this army was 
stationed at Governour's Island and Paulus Hook ; another 
at New Rochelle and Westchester, while the third was at 
Brooklyn on Long Island. Washington with the main army 
was at New-York. 

5. On the 22d of August, the British landed on Long 
Island, and extended themselves parallel to the American 
army, and distant from it about four miles. On the 26th, 
the English attacked the Americans at different points, and 
after a warm action compelled them to retreat, with the loss 
of between one and two thousand men. In the height of 
the action, Washington crossed the river to Brooklyn, and 
seeing it was in vain to contend with a superiotir and well 
disciplined foe, now flushed with victory, on the night of the 
28th, he withdrew the remains of his army to New- York. 

6. About this time, captain Hale, a young and enterprising 
officer of Connecticut, and highly esteemed, hearing that 
Washington was desirous of having precise information re- 
specting the state of the British army on Long Island, arid 
the designs of its commander, undertook the perilous ser- 
vice. He obtained the intelligence desired, but being ap- 
prehended while on his return, and carried before Sir Henry 
Clinton, he was sentenced to die the next morning, and wa^ 
accordingly executed. 

7. On the 15th of September, the British army took pos- 
session of New-York, Washington having retired to the 
heights of Haerlem. Howe, the British commander, sup- 
posing that the disaster of the Americans on Long Island 
had disheartened them, again proposed an accommodation 
of differences. Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and 
Edward Rutledge were accordingly delegated to meet the 
British commissioners. But as they would not acknowledge 
the independence of America, nothing was agreed upon. 

8. At this time the situation of the American army was 
distressing. The militia, unused to the services and priva- 
tions of the camp and of the field, and dispirited by the dis- 
aster at Brooklyn, deserted by hundreds, and returned to their 
homes. Washington made a forcible appeal to congress* 
and urged the necessity of energy and promptness in recruit- 
ing the army, and his appeal was not without effect. Con- 
gress immediately offered a bounty of twenty dollars at the 
time of enlistment, and a portion of land to all tfiio should 

19 






214 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

serve during the war. This measure laid the foundation of 
a permanent army. 

9. To risk no general engagement, and to harass and wear 
out the enemy by keeping them in motion, appears to have 
been the policy of Washington in conducting the war. This 
was the same policy by which Fabius Maximus saved Italy 
from the Carthagenians under Hannibal, and it now saved 
America. 

10. On the 16th of September, the Americans gained ai 
advantage over the British near New-York. Washington 
detached colonel Knowlton and major Leech to attack a party 
which appeared on the plain, while he amused them by a 
feint of engaging them in front. The design succeeded, 
and the king's troops were defeated. This success in some 
degree contributed to raise the sunken spirits of the Ameri- 
cans, although colonel Knowlton was slain. The British 
commander now laboured to induce Washington to hazard a 
general engagement . and for this purpose he endeavoured 
to cut off the communication with the eastern colonies, from 
whence the American army drew its provisions. 

11. On the 28th of October the partial action of White 
Plains occurred. Of the two roads leading east, the British 
had secured the one running along the coast, without much 
trouble ; but in order to secure the other it was necessary to 
dislodge Washington from his post. The loss in the action 
was considerable on both sides ; but the Americans main- 
tained their position till the arrival of a re-enforcement to the 
British. Not daring to risk his army after this event, Wash- 
ington withdrew to Northcastle on the night of the 30th, 
and leaving here a body of men under general Lee, he with 
the main army crossed the Hudson, and encamped near fort 
Lee. 

12. On the 16th of November, the British attacked fort 
Washington, which was garrisoned by two thousand seven 
hundred men under colonel Magaw. The garrison defended 
themselves with such bravery, that in the course of the day 
they killed and wounded twelve hundred of the assailants. 
But at length finding it impossible any longer to resist the 
enemy, the garrison capitulated on the most honourable 
terms. Two thousand prisoners fell into the hands of the 
English. On the 18th of November, the British having 
crossed the Hudson, marched to attack fort Lee. But the 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 215 

garrison apprehending themselves unable to defend the place, 
evacuated it, and under the conduct of general Lee, joined 
the main army at Newark. 

13. The American army now retreated across New- Jer- 
sey, and were closely pursued by the British. Washington 
finding himself insecure at Newark, removed and took post 
at Brunswick. The same day that the Americans entered 
the latter place, the English entered the former. Washing- 
ton then retreated to Princeton, and then to Trenton. Being 
still pursued, he crossed the Delaware and entered Pennsyl- 
vania. Lord Howe now stationed a body of troops amount- 
ing to four thousand men, mostly Hessians, along the Dela- 
ware, extending his line from Holly to Trenton ; placed a 
strong force at Princeton ; located his main army at Bruns- 
wick, and retired himself to New-York, to wait for the free- 
zing of the Delaware, that he might pass over and destroy the 
American army. 

14. Congress, about this time, resolved that Washington 
should have full power to direct and order all things in regard 
to the conducting of the war. In this, that body manifested 
how highly they appreciated his services and talents, and in 
return he gave full proof of his desert of this confidence ; 
for he immediately made every exertion for the increase of 
his army and the supply of its necessities. The distress 
which it had endured in its retreat across New-Jersey, was 
such as none but men fighting for their dearest rights would 
have borne without repining ; for their course was marked 
by blood flowing from their naked feet, lacerated by the frozen 
ground, while without tents, and almost without clothes, they 
were exposed to all the severities of a keen December air. 

15. General Howe at this juncture offered a free pardon 
to all who would declare for the royal authority ; supposing 
that the Americans considered themselves vanquished, and 
their condition hopeless. Many accepted the terms, espe- 
cially among the very poor and the very rich, while but few of 
the middle class deserted their country in the hour of dis- 
tress and danger. Washington used every means to revive 
and keep up the spirits of his countrymen and of his army ; 
visiting the sick among the latter, praising their constancy, 
and representing their conduct and their sufferings to con« 
gress. 

16* The American forces at this time amounted to about 



. 



2i6 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

seven thousand men. As the year drew near a close, and 
as the term for which many had enlisted would then expire. 
Washington saw the necessity of making the best use of the 
little time which remained. At this crisis he was aided by the 
presence and the counsels of generals Gates, Mercer, Mifc 
iin, and Sullivan ; general Lee having a short time before 
been taken prisoner in the northern part of New-Jersey, and 
carried to New- York. 

17. Washington now determined to re-cross the Delawar 
and attack the British post at Trenton. The better to ensure 
success, he proposed to cross the river at three different pla- 
ces ; at Makonkey's ferry, at Bristol and at Trenton, and 
thus attack the troops stationed at Trenton and Brunswick. 
Washington himself crossed at Makonkey's ferry, and sepa- 
rating his troops into two divisions, both by different routes 
came upon the Hessians at the same moment, took one thou- 
sand prisoners, and immediately re-crossed the Delaware. 
The other two detachments did not succeed in crossing the 
river, owing to the ice with which it was obstructed. This 
success induced those whose term of service was nearly ex- 
pired to serve six weeks longer, and Washington again took 
post at Trenton. 

18. Lord Cornwallis, who now commanded the British, 
immediately put his army in motion to attack the Americans. 
Washington, sensible of his inferiority in numbers, determin- 
ed, whije Cornwallis was marching to attack him at Trenton, 
to gain the rear of the British, and fall upon the detachment 
stationed at Princeton. About midnight, therefore, leaving 
his rires burning, he silently decamped, and taking a circui- 
tous route, at sunrise came unexpectedly upon two British 
regiments, proceeding to the aid of Cornwallis. Dispersing 
these, he hastened on to Princeton, where one regiment was 
yet remaining. Some of these saved themselves by flight, 
and others, to the number of three hundred, were taken pri- 
soners. 

19. On the 6th of January, Washington retired to winter 
quarters at Morristown. He had previously taken Newark, 
Woodbridge, Elizabethtown, and all the British posts in 
New-Jersey, except Brunswick and Amboy. These brill- 
iant victories raised the minds of the American people from 
depression, and exalted Washington in the view of Europe 
as well as of his countrymen. The excesses of which fix 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 217 

British and Hessians had been guilty, so exasperated the 
people of New-Jersey, that the troops now confined at 
Brunswick and Amboy could not venture out to forage, with* 
out the greatest danger of being destroyed. 

20. On the 11th of October, general Arnold was defeated 
in a naval engagement on lake Champlain, by a British force 
under general Carleton. The same day that Washington 
retreated across the Delaware, the British took possession of 
Rhode Island. On the 4th of October, congress adopted 
articles of confederation, which formed the basis of govern- 
ment till the adoption of the federal constitution. By these 
articles the colonies took the style of the " United States 
of America. " 

21. In order to defray the expenses of the war, congress 
authorized a loan of five millions of dollars, at four per cent. 
per annum, and created a lottery by which they hoped to 
raise one and a half million. In order to induce France to 
espouse the cause of America, Benjamin Franklin, Silas 
Deane, and Arthur Lee, were sent to that country as com- 
missioners. They were instructed to procure arms and am- 
munition ; to solicit a loan of ten millions of francs ; and, if 
possible, obtain permission to fit out in the ports of France 
American privateers, to annoy the commerce of England. 

22. The destruction of the American stores collected at 
Cortlandt Manor, in New- York, and at Danbury, in Con- 
necticut, was the first attempt made by the British in the 
campaign of 1777. Colonel M'Dougal, who commanded 
at the former place, knowing his inability to defend them, on 
the approach of the British under colonel Bird, on the 25th 
of March, destroyed the stores and retired. On the 26th of 
April, governour Tryon, at the head of two thousand tories, 
proceeded to Danbury, and destroyed the stores at that place, 
and burned the town. On his retreat he was harassed by 
general Arnold, at the head of seven or eight hundred militia. 
In these skirmishes, the British lost one hundred and seventy 
men, and the Americans one hundred. 

23. The Marquis de La Fayette, a young French noble- 
man of wealth and distinction, about this time espoused the 
cause of the United States, and embarked for America. After 
the disaster of the Americans on Long Island, the commis- 
sioners felt bound to communicate to him the darkening pros- 
pects of their country, and to represent to him her poverty f 

19* 



Zlb AMERICAN HISTORY. 

which was so extreme, that not even a vessel could be pro- 
cured by them for his conveyance. " Then," replied the 
gallant youth, " if your country is indeed reduced to this ex- 
tremity, this is the moment that my departure to join her ar- 
mies will render her the most essential service." His arri- 
val was hailed with joy, and congress appointed him a major- 
general in the army. 

24. The British general, Prescott, who commanded in 
Rhode Island, was captured on the night of the 10th of July, 
by colonel Barton, aided by about forty militia, selected for 
the enterprise. Barton and his companions landed on the 
island between Newport and Bristol, marched about a mile 
to Prescott's quarters, seized him in his bed, and quickly 
conducted him prisoner to the main land. 

25. General Burgoyne, an officer who had served under 
Carleton in Canada, was at this time the chief in command in 
the northern British army. By his importunities and repre- 
sentation, the British ministry had been induced to attempt 
once more the subjugation of the revolted colonies, by send- 
ing an army to invade them from Canada, and which was ex- 
pected to descend the Hudson, and form a junction with the 
forces stationed at New- York. Burgoyne, besides being 
furnished with a formidable train of artillery and all necessa- 
ry stores in profusion, was accompanied by several distin- 
guished and veteran officers. His army consisted of seven 
thousand one hundred and seventy-three regular troops,* be- 
side several thousand Canadians and Indians. 

26* Burgoyne's plan of operation was, that colonel St. 
Leger should proceed by the St. Lawrence, Oswego, and fort 
Stanwix, to Albany, with one detachment, while Burgoyne 
was to go by way of lake Champlain and the Hudson river to 
the same place, and then both proceed to New-York. Bur- 
goyne accordingly set forward, and made Ins first encamp- 
ment on the western shore of lake Champlain. Here he de- 
livered a talk to his Indian allies, endeavouring to dissuadr 
them from their cruel mode of warfare ; and issued a procla- 
mation to the northern colonies, urging them to return to their 
allegiance, and threatening condign punishment if they re- 
fused. 

27. May 3d, fort Stanwix was invested by St. Leger with 
a force of nearly two thousand men, including Indians. Co- 
lonel Gansevoort commanded the garrison. General Her- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 219 

kimer, collecting the militia, was hastening to the relief of 
Gansevoort, when he fell into an ambush, and was defeated 
and slain with seven hundred of his men. Colonel Willet 
and lieutenant Stockton having escaped from the fort, pro- 
ceeded to Albany to obtain assistance. Colonel Schuy- 
ler sent Arnold with the necessary aid, and the Indians under 
St. Leger, hearing of his approach, mutined, and compelled 
him to return to Montreal. 

28. On the 30th of June, genera] Burgoyne advanced as 
far as Crown Point, and invested Ticonderoga. This was a 
place of great strength, and garrisoned with a force of three 
thousand men, under the command of general St. Clair. 
The fort was so situated as to be o\erlooked by a hill called 
Mount Defiance, which till this time had been deemed inac- 
cessible. But on the 5th of July, Burgoyne found means to 
ascend this height, to the top of which he caused several 
brass cannon to be conveyed, by means of ropes and tackles. 
St. Clair immediately evacuated the fort, and retreated with 
his army to Skeensborough, and ultimately to fort Edward. 

29. On the 30th of July, Burgoyne and his army reached 
the Hudson, after great expense and labour. In order to 
obtain possession of a large quantity of provisions which he 
learned were stored at Bennington, in Vermont, he despatch- 
ed colonel Baum, a German officer, at the head of four hun- 
dred men, to seize them. General Stark, hearing of Baum's 
approach, collected the militia and attacked him four miles 
from Bennington. Baum was defeated, and most of his par- 
ty slain. Before the Americans had time to recover from 
their fatigue, a British re-enforcement under colonel Brey- 
man arrived. At the same time the Americans were also re- 
enforced by the Green Mountain Boys, under colonel War- 
ner, and the British troops were again defeated with a total 
loss, in both actions, of seven hundred men. 

30. On the 14th of September, Burgoyne and his army 
encamped at Saratoga. General Gates, the American com- 
mander, on the 8th of September, encamped at Stillwater, at 
which place a bloody and obstinate action occurred on the 
19th of that month. The action continued till night separa- 
ted the combatants, when the Americans retired to their camp 
with the loss of four hundred men. The British loss was 
five hundred. On the 7th of October, a general battle waE 
fought at Saratoga* The action lasted but fifty-two minutes? 



AMERICAN HISTORY. - 

when the British army gave way, and fled to their camp, 
whither the Americans pursued them and forced their en- 
trenchments. 

31. On the 17th of October, 1777, Burgoyne and his ar- 
my surrendered to the Americans. By this event, 5752 pri- 
soners, five thousand muskets, and thirty-five brass fielc 
pieces fell into the hands of the victors. Burgoyne had early 
sent advice to Sir Henry Clinton at New-York, of the danger 
of his situation, and solicited speedy assistance. But the ex- 
pected succour not arriving, he was obliged to submit to ne- 
cessity, however mortifying, and yielded to superiour force. 
By the terms of capitulation, the British were to stack theii 
arms at the command of their own officers, march out of theii 
intrenchments with the honours of war, and engage not t< 
serve in America during the continuance of the war. 

32. The capture of Philadelphia was an object upon which 
the mind of Howe appears at this time to have been intent. 
To effect this object, he left Sandy Hook on the 23d of July, 
and on the 28th of August he disembarked his troops, to the 
number of 18,000, at the head of Elk river, fifty miles froi 
Philadelphia. Washington, penetrating the design, determin- 
ed to oppose it, and immediately crossing the Delaware, ap- 
proached the enemy till he reached Gray's Hill, and encamp- 
ed on the rising grounds near Chad's ford on the Brandy wine. 

33. On the 11th of September, was fought the battle of 
the Brandywine, which decided the fate of Philadelphia. The 
right wing of the British was commanded by general Knyp- 
hausen, and the left by lord Cornwallis. The former, with 
some fighting and much noise, engaged the attention of the 
Americans, while the latter, taking a circuitous route, crossed 
the Brandywine at the forks, fell upon them while they were 
in a measure unprepared to receive them, and the carnage 
was dreadful. The Americans were forced to retire with the 
loss of three hundred killed, six hundred wounded, and four 
hundred taken prisoners. The loss of the British was less 
than five hundred in killed and wounded. 

34. On the 26th of September, the British army entered 
Philadelphia. Congress, finding themselves insecure in that 
city, had previously removed to Lancaster, carrying with 
them all the publick property and archives. Howe had long 
flattered himself that the capture of Philadelphia would decide 
the contest. But the freemen of America were not yet dis- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 221 

<ouraged. They were well assured that Washington, as 
soon as he should be re-enforced, would hover around the in- 
vaders, and by cutting off their supplies, render their continu- 
ance in the city unpleasant if not impracticable, especially if 
they could be prevented from receiving supplies by water. 

35. October 22d, the British made an attack on Red Bank, 
an American post on the Jersey shore. This service was 
committed to a body of Hessians under the command of col- 
onel Donop, a brave but unfortunate officer. The Ameri- 
cans made a vigorous defence, and the enemy were repulsed 
with the loss of 500 men. But the British finding means to 
obtain a post which commanded fort Mifflin, the Americans 
were obliged to retire to fort Mercer, at Red Bank, which 
soon after was also evacuated. While these events were 
transpiring, Washington having been re-enforced, advanced at 
the head of twelve thousand regulars, and three thousand 
militia, to within fourteen miles of Philadelphia and encamped 
at Wliite Marsh. Howe endeavoured to manoeuvre so as to 
compel Washington to a general engagement, but failing in 
this, withdrew into winter quarters at Philadelphia. 

38. Washington on the 11th of December, retired to Val- 
ley Forge, where he took up his winter quarters. Here he 
had hardly formed his encampment, before he found he had 
scarcely a day's provision, and as to clothing, some of his 
men had one shirt, some a remnant of one, while the most 
had none at all. More than 3000 were excused from duty 
because they had not clothes to defend them from the cold. 
Even straw could not be obtained, and the soldiers were 
obliged to sleep on the bare ground. In this extremity of 
distress, diseases broke out among them, and the mortality 
became very great. Still these evils were borne with patience, 
in most instances as long as possible, and where discontents 
arose, it seemed to be of necessitv. 

37. At this time, intrigues arose against Washington in the 
camp ; the object of which was, to render his situation so un- 
pleasant, that of his own accord he should retire from his 
command, and thus make room for the elevation of Gates, 
whose reputation stood high on account of his success against 
Burgoyne. At the head of this cabal was general Conway, 
who possessed a restless and intriguing disposition. But 
happily the publick mind was not prepared to receive any 
criminations against the commander-in-chief, and a general 



L>22 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

indignation being expressed against his enemies, they thought 
proper to retire. 

38. February 6th, 1778, France concluded a treaty with 
the United States. The basis of this treaty was, the acknow- 
ledgement of American independence, and a promise to sup- 
port it. This treaty was signed on the part of France by M. 
Gerard, and on the part of the United States, by Benjamin 
Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee. "On the 20th of 
March, the American commissioners were received at the 
court of France as the representatives of a sister nation ;" an 
event which in the eyes of Europe was of the utmost impor- 
tance, and which for ever sealed the separation between 
Britain and her colonies. 



QUESTIONS. 

1. What took place on the fourth of July 1776 ?— 2. When was 
Staten Island occupied by the British commanders ? — 3. To what did 
the British commanders now direct their efforts ?— 4. Of how many 
men did the American army nominally consist?— 5. When did the 
British land on Long Island? — 6. Who was executed as a spy about 
this time ?— 7. What took place on the 15th of September ?— 8. What 
at this time was the situation of the American army ? — 9. What ap- 
pears to have been the policy of Washington in conducting the war ? — 
10. What did the Americans do on the 16th Sept.?— 11. When did the 
action of White Plains occur? — 12. What did the British do on the 
16th Nov.? — 13. What did the American army now do ?— 14. What 
did congress resolve about this time ? — 15. What did Gen. Howe offer 
at this juncture? — 16. How numerous was the American army at this 
period ?— -17. What did Washington now determine to d« ?— 18. What 
did lord Cornwallis do? — 19. When and where did Washington retire 
to winter quarters ? — 20. What occurred on the 11th Oct.?— 21. What 
did congress do to defray the expenses of the war? — 22. What was the 
first attempt made by the British in the campaign of 1777 ? — 23. Who 
about this time embarked for America? — 24. Who was captured by 
Col. Barton on the night of the 10th July ? — 25. Who at this time was 
appointed to the command of the northern British army? — 26. What 
was Burgoyne's plan of operations ? — 27. What was done 3d May ? — 
28. How far had Burgoyne advanced on the 30th June ? — 29. When 
did he reach the Hudson ?— 30. Where did he encamp on the 14th Sept.? 
— 31. When did he and his army surrender? — 32. What was an ob- 
ject upon which the mind of Howe seems to have been intent ? — 33. 
What battle was fought on the 11th Sept.?— 34. When did the British 
army enter Philadelphia ? — 35. What did the British do on the 22d 
Oct.? — 36. When and where did Washington retire to winter quarters ? 
— 37. What were formed about this time? — 38. When did Franco 
•onclude a treaty with the United States ? 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 223 

SECTION IX. 

EVACUATION OF PHILADELPHIA. CAPITULATION OF CHARLES- 
TON. ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH FLEET, 

1. Carlisle, Eden, and Johnston, British commissioners 
for negotiating a reconciliation with America, arrived at Phi- 
ladelphia on the 9th of June. The concessions which they 
were empowered to make, came too late, and congress wholly 
refused to negotiate on any other terms except an acknow- 
ledgement of independence, and the withdrawal of the British 
troops. The commissioners next resorted to intrigue and 
bribery, but all their efforts were unsuccessful, and their con- 
duct being exposed, congress passed an act forbidding all far- 
ther intercourse with them. 

2. On the morning of the 18th of June, preparations hav- 
ing previously been made, the royal army evacuated Philadel- 
phia, and took their course through New-Jersey to New- 
Fork. The American army under Washington hovered 
around them on their retreat, and an engagement took place 
at Monmouth, on the 28th of June, in which the British were 
defeated with the loss of seven hundred men. Gen. Lee, 
for his misconduct in this action, and for subsequent disre- 
spect to the commander-in-chief, was suspended from service, 
by congress, for the term of one year. 

3. On the 8th of June, a French fleet under the command 
of count D'Estaing, arrived in Delaware bay. It was his 
intention to have blockaded the British fleet in the Delaware 
river ; but on his arrival, finding it had sailed for New- York, 
he followed it, intending to come to an engagement there. 
But owing to their size, he was not able to get his vessels 
over the bar between Sandy Hook and Long Island, and 
therefore sailed for Rhode Island to act in conjunction with 
general Sullivan, in an attack which he meditated upon the 
British troops there stationed. 

4. On the 14th of August, Sullivan commenced the siege 
of Newport, relying upon the promised aid of the French. 
D'Estaing, having given chase to the British fleet under lord 
Howe, which on the morning of the 8th appeared on the 
coast, the latter decoyed him out to sea, and a partial en- 
gagement ensued. The hostile squadrons were separated 
by a violent storm, by which they were both so much shatter- 
ed, as to compel them to put into harbour to refit. D'Es- 



224 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

taing, thus situated, refused to listen to the wishes or the re* 
monstrances of Sullivan, and sailed for Boston, in order to 
repair the damages his squadron had sustained by the tem- 
pest. Sullivan was now obliged to raise the siege, and re- 
treat to the main land, which was hardly accomplished, be- 
fore Sir Henry Clinton, with four thousand troops from New- 
York, made his appearance. 

5. September oth, general Gray destroyed sixty large ves- 
sels near New-London, and also many mills, warehouses, 
&c, at New-Bedford and Fair-Haven. The conduct of the 
French admiral in refusing to aid Sullivan in the siege of 
Newport, excited much resentment, and it required all the 
address of Washington to sooth the disaffected, and prevent 
an open rupture. The campaign of 1778, was more distin- 
guished by the depredations and cruelties of the Indians, than 
any one during the war. The chiefs who led them on to 
these sanguinary deeds, were Butler and Brandt, two beings 
whose whole delight seems to have been in acts of blood. 

6. The excision of Wyoming, a settlement consisting of 
eight towns on the Susquehannah, occurred about this time. 
The youth of this settlement were at this period with the ar- 
my, and but five hundred men remained capable of making 
any defence. In July, Brandt and Butler appeared on the 
banks of the Susquehannah with sixteen hundred tories and 
Indians under their command, and the two forts nearest to 
the frontier immediately surrendered. The men of the gar- 
rison were instantly butchered, and the women and children 
made prisoners. 

7. Kingston, the principal fort, was then surrounded, and 
to dismay the garrison, the savages hurled into it two hun- 
dred scalps, reeking with blood. Colonel Denison, the com- 
mander, knowing it to be impracticable to defend the fort, in- 
quired of Butler what terms would be allowed should he sur- 
render, was answered, "the hatchet." The garrison was 
soon overpowered, and the savages, weary with slaughter in 
the detail, enclosed the men, women, and children, in houses 
and barracks, and then setting these on fire, the whole were 
consumed. 

8. On the 3d of November, the French squadron sailed 
from Boston for the W r est Indies, and was soon followed by 
the British fleet on the American station. The English min- 
istry had placed their principal hopes of success in this cam- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 225 

paign, in the reduction of the southern states ; but it was not 
till iate in the season that preparations were made for carry- 
ing the plan into execution. On the 28th of December, a 
body of two thousand five hundred Hessians, English, and 
refugees, under the command of colonel Campbell, appeared 
before Savannah, and the city being totally unprepared for 
defence, surrendered. Four hundred and fifty American sol- 
diers fell into the hands of the British, together with a large 
quantity of arms and ammunition. Near the close of the 
year 1778, Washington retired to winter quarters at Middle- 
brook. 

9. A change in the theatre of war from the northern to the 
southern states distinguished the campaign of 1779. Gene- 
ral Prevost, who commanded in Florida, marched to Geor- 
gia, and uniting his forces with those under Campbell, all 
Georgia submitted to their arms, the American troops that 
could escape retreating into South Carolina. In a short time 
after the reduction of Georgia, general Lincoln took com- 
mand of the American forces in the southern states. But 
the heat of the season prevented any active operations till 
September by either army ; and in the course of that month, 
count D'Estaing arrived on the American coast from the 
West Indies, with a fleet carrying six thousand French troops. 

10. About the beginning of October, the combined forces 
of the French and Americans made an attack on Savannah. 
Great gallantry was displayed on both sides, but the British 
were successful, and the assailants were repulsed with the 
loss of near one thousand men in killed and wounded. Count 
Pulaski, a Polish nobleman, celebrated in the annals of his 
country, was mortally wounded in the assault, and soon after 
died. The next day after the action, the French troops em- 
barked for Europe, and the Americans retired to South 
Carolina. 

11. Early in May, general Mathews, in order to promote 
the design of subduing the southern states, was sent to make 
a descent on Virginia. He proceeded to Portsmouth, Nor- 
folk, Suffolk, and Gosport, which he destroyed, and devasta- 
ted the surrounding country. But failing in exciting a revolt, 
which was the principal object of the expedition, Mathews 
was recalled, and an expedition against Verplank's Neck, 
and Stony Point was projected. Both these forts fell into 
the hands of the British, and their loss was a material detri* 

20 



226 AMERICAN HISTORY. 






e 



merit to the Americans, for they were now obliged to make a 
circuit of ninety miles in order to communicate with the nor- 
then or southern provinces. 

12. The re-capture of Stony Point and Yerplank's Nee 
was an object of great importance to the Americans. Was 
ington accordingly sent general Wayne to attack the former, 
while general Howe attempted the latter. Wayne, with his 
troops arrived under the walls of the fort about midnight, and 
separating into two columns, attacked the fort on two sides. 
The British garrison opened a tremendous fire upon the as- 
sailants, but undismayed, they pressed forward, opened their 
way with the bayonet, and scaling the walls, the two columns 
met in the centre of the fort. The British lost six hundred 
in killed, wounded, and prisoners, and the Americans one 
hundred. The attack on Verplank's Neck was unsuccessful. 

13. In July, congress directed general Sullivan, with two 
thousand men, to march against the Indians at the west, and 
repress their incursions. At Wyoming, he was joined by 
sixteen hundred men under James Clinton, and proceeded to 
Newtown, at the confluence of the Conhockton and Canisteo 
rivers. Here, the Indians under their chiefs, Brandt, But- 
ler, and Johnson, were assembled in considerable numbers, 
and had thrown up an entrenchment, and strengthened it by 
a redoubt and palisades. General Sullivan immediately at- 
tacked them ; and after a contest of two hours, compelled 
them to fly. The savages were struck with terrour, and Sul- 
livan marching through their country, destroyed forty villages 
and an immense quantity of grain. 

14. In September, on the coast of Scotland, occurred one 
of the most bloody naval battles recorded in history; in which 
Paul Jones acquired great reputation as a bold and fortunate 
commander. He was a Scotchman by birth, but had been 
by congress appointed a captain in the American navy, and 
now commanded a squadron which had been fitted out in the 
ports of France. His fleet consisted of the Bon-homme 
Richard, of forty guns, the Alliance, of thirty-six, the Pallas, 
of thirty-two, and two smaller vessels. While cruising on 
the coast of Scotland, he fell in with a fleet of British mer- 
chantmen, convoyed by the Serapis, of forty-four guns, and 
the Countess of Scarborough, of twenty. 

15. After an action of an hour, the Bon-homme Richard and 
the Serapis approached so near each other, that Jones, sei- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 227 

aing the opportunity, grappled them together. The battle 
now raged with terriflck fury, and the carnage on board both 
vessels was appalling. Both frigates were several times on 
fire, till at length the magazine of the Serapis blew up, and 
killed several of her men. At ten o'clock she surrendered ; 
but Jones' ship was so shattered that her crew were obliged 
to go on board the conquered ship, and their own soon after 
sunk. The Pallas in the mean time engaged the Countess 
of Scarborough, and captured her. Jones with his prizes 
sailed for Holland, and anchored in the Texel October 6th. 

16. Toward the close of the year 1779, the paper curren- 
cy of the States was so much depreciated, that thirty dollar? 
in paper were worth no more than one in specie. This de- 
preciation of the currency, produced an alarming degeneracy 
of publick morals. A set of men arose, in whose breasts 
patriotism was extinguished by the spirit of avarice, and who 
cared nothing for the distresses of their country, if they could 
enrich themselves with her spoils. Hence, many worthless 
characters suddenly amassed immense wealth, while many 
honest, deserving persons sunk into poverty. The amount 
of bills issued by congress up to this time, was one hundred 
and sixty millions of dollars. 

17. In July, the British sent a detachment from Halifax, 
and established a post on Penobscot river, in the province of 
Maine. Their force consisted of one thousand men, under 
the command of general Maclean, with several armed ves- 
sels, which occupied the river. Massachusetts, whose territo- 
ry was thus invaded, sent general Lovell with a force of fifteen 
hundred men, and a number of armed vessels and transports, 
to dislodge the enemy. But the enterprise was unsuccess- 
ful, owing principally to the conduct of the officer command- 
ing the armed vessels, who refused to aid me troops in their 
attack upon the British works. Of the American fleet, two 
ships fell into the hands of the enemy, and the rest were 
blown up and destroyed. 

18. Early in October, the British evacuated Newport, and 
the Americans took possession of the town. The enemy left 
the place in good condition, treated the inhabitants with ci- 
vility, and abandoned to them a large quantity of hay, wood, 
and military stores. At this time congress was greatly per- 
plexed by the intrigues of the courts of France and Spain. 
To the former, they were urged to abandon the valuable fish- 



228 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

cries of Newfoundland, and to yield the latter the exclusive 
navigation of the Mississippi. Congress, however, continu- 
ed inflexible, and Spain having in view the same object as 
France, the humbling of England, joined in the conflict. 

19. The armed neutrality was formed about this time, by 
the courts of Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, in which they 
were afterward joined by France, Spain, and Holland. Eng- 
land had for a long time regarded herself as the mistress oi 
the sea, and claimed the right of searching even neutral ves- 
sels for articles contraband of war ; a right which she now ex- 
ercised with a vexatious and exulting scrutiny. By the treat) 
of the "armed neutrality" the contracting powers stipulated 
that neutral vessels might freely navigate from one port to an- 
other ; that all effects, except such as a former treaty had re- 
cognized as contraband, should be free as soon as on board 
a neutral vessel ; that no port should be considered as block- 
aded unless invested by a competent actual force, and thai 
all prizes should be adjudged according to the rules provi- 
ded by this instrument. 

20. To this treaty, England and Portugal refused to be- 
come parties. Holland was threatened by the British court 
with exemplary punishment if she should accede to the treaty; 
but disregarding all menances, she became a party in the alli- 
ance. The British ministry unwilling to engage in a war with 
Russia at that juncture dissembled their displeasure, and eva- 
ded giving a direct answer to the solicitations of that power. 
These movements in Europe, had the effect of causing the 
war in America to be prosecuted with less vigour on the part 
of Britain, and many of her statesmen began to apprehend 
that the contest would end in the loss of the revolted colonies 
to the English crown. 

21. At this period of the contest, the women of South 
Carolina displayed a heroism and love of country which rai- 
sed them above the wives and daughters of Sparta. They 
gloried in the appellation of "rebel ladies ;" and though strong- 
ly solicited by the British officers, refused their presence at 
every party of pleasure and scene of amusement. Though 
surrounded with peril, they visited the prison-ships and the 
dungeons ; sought out and relieved the suffering soldiers ; 
encouraged and animated their husbands and brothers to fight 
the oppressor ; and at every hazard, to prefer imprisonment 
and death to servitude and infamv. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 229 

22. A society of ladies for providing clothing for the sol- 
diers, was formed at Philadelphia. At the head of this so- 
ciety was Mrs. Martha Washington, the wife of the command- 
er-in-chief. This lady was prudent in the management of 
the private affairs of her illustrious husband ; presided over 
his domestick finances ; and by her amiable virtues, enabled 
him to devote himself to his publick duties and cares. Mrs. 
Washington and the ladies associated with her, subscribed 
considerable sums for the publick use, and by their influence 
stimulated others to similar deeds of liberality. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. Who arrived at Philadelphia on the 9th June ? — 2. When did the 
British army evacuate Philadelphia ?— 3. Who arrived in the Dela- 
ware on the 8th June ? — 4. What took place on the 14th August ? — 5. 
What on Sept. 5th ?—6. What occurred about this time ?—7. What 
occurred at Kingston ?— 8. What did the French squadron do on the 
3d Nov.?— 9. What distinguished the campaign of 1779?— 10. What 
occurred about the beginning of Oct.? — 11. What early in May ? — 12. 
What was an object of great importance to the Americans ?— 13. What 
did congress direct Sullivan to do in July ? — 14. What occurred on 
the coast of Scotland in Sept.? — 15. What happened after an action oi 
an hour ? — 16. What is said of the paper currency toward the close 
of 1779?— 17. What did the British do in July ?— 18. What, early in 
Oct.? — 19. By what powers was the "armed neutrality" formed ? — 
20. What powers refused to become parties to this treaty ? — 21. What 
is said of the women of South Carolina at this period of the contest ?—• 
22. What society was formed at Philadelphia ? 

SECTION X. 

FRENCH TROOPS ARRIVE AT RHODE ISLAND. BATTLE OF 
GUILFORD. CAPTURE OF CORNWALLIS. 

1. The campaign of 1780, commenced with an attack 
upon Charleston, the capital of South Carolina. Sir Henry 
Clinton, with a part of his army, appeared before the place 
early in the month of February, and erected batteries, frcm 
which an incessant and destructive fire was kept up. The 
city soon offered terms of capitulation, which were rejected 
by Clinton, who proposed terms which the citizens in their 
turn rejected. Clinton then pressed the siege with increased 
vigour, and the inhabitants, seeing no hope of escape or of 
relief, consented to the very terms they before rejected, and 
m the 12th of May, the capitulation was signed* 
20* 



230 AMERICAN HISTORY. 



rails 
land. 



2. About this time, a French fleet, with a number of tr; 
ports, carrying six thousand men, arrived at Rhode Islam 
The fleet was commanded by M. de Fernay, and the troops 
by count de Rochambeau ; but by an agreement between 
the court of Versailles and congress, Washington was to be 
commander-in-chief of all the troops, both French and Ame- 
rican. The French were immediately put in possession of 
Rhode Island, and in order to unite more closely the two ar- 
mies, Washington " ordered the distinctive colours of the 
national flags to be blended in the banners of his army." 

3. Colonels Sumpter and Marion, two partisan officers, 
greatly distinguished themselves in South Carolina. The 
former was a native of that state, and was greatly beloved by 
his fellow citizens, over whom he had great influence. He 
collected great numbers of them, and though they were often 
almost destitute of the means of subsistence, and obliged to 
use their implements of husbandry for weapons of war, yet 
they kept the enemy in check, and often caused them serious 
disasters. In some instances, Sumpter and his men were 
known to charge the enemy with but three rounds of am- 
munition to a man, but their frequent skirmishes with the 
British, soon furnished them with arms and cartridges. Ha- 
ving thus equipped his men, whose number now amounted to 
six hundred, he determined to attack some of the strong 
holds of the enemy. 

4. August 6*h, Sumpter attacked a British regiment sta- 
tioned at Hanging Rock, and totally routed them. Mean- 
while the Baron de Kalb, who had been sent from Maryland 
to defend South Carolina, was advancing by slow marches 
toward the point of his destination, being re-enforced on his 
way by some Virginia militia, and the troops of North Caro- 
lina, under general Caswell. General Gates, who had been 
appointed to the command of the southern army, joined de 
Kalb at Deep river, and advanced at the head of four thou- 
sand men toward South Carolina. When he arrived on the 
frontier of that state, he issued a proclamation, inviting the in- 
habitants to join him, which had so great an effect, that even 
whole companies, which had been raised for the service of the 
king, deserted, and he took post at Clermont, near Camden. 

5. On the 16th of August, a general engagement took 
place at Camden, between the Americans under Gates, and 
*he British under lords Cornwaflis and Rawdon. The two 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 231 

armies had simultaneously marched from their respective 
camps, each with the design of surprising the other, and at 
two in the morning, the advanced guards of both armies met. 
and the firing commenced* From the prisoners taken, each 
commander learned the designs of the other, and the two ar- 
mies, suspending their fire, halted in order of battle, and 
waited for the dawn of day. 

6. The Americans were defeated, fleeing in the greatest 
disorder, and pursued by the British twenty-three miles. 
The ill conduct of the Virginia and North Carolina militia ? 
who broke and fled in the very commencement of the action,, 
was the probable cause of the disaster. The loss of the 
Americans in killed, wounded, and prisoners, amounted to 
two thousand, together with all their artillery, baggage, and 
stores. Baron de Kalb was wounded, and died three days 
after the battle, greatly lamented by the American army. 
General Gates retired into North Carolina. General Sump- 
ter was defeated near the Wateree, by colonel Tarleton, and 
colonel Marion alone kept the field. 

7. While these events were transpiring at the south, the 
attempt of general Arnold to betray his country was disco- 
vered at the north. Arnold was greatly beloved by the Ame- 
rican people, on account of his bravery and good conduct. 
Having been severely wounded at the attack on Quebec, and 
again in the battle of Saratoga, from the last of which he had 
not entirely recovered, he was excused from active service, 
and congress conferred upon him the command of Philadel- 
phia. Here he lived in an expensive style, far above his in- 
come, and contracted large debts. To discharge these, and 
support his extravagance, he engaged in commerce and priva- 
teering, and in these he was unfortunate. 

8. To supply his wants, he next had recourse to the pub- 
lick money, to which as an officer he had access, and to pre- 
vent discovery, made large claims upon the government. 
Congress being dissatisfied, appointed a committee to inves- 
tigate his accounts, andthe result of their examination was, a 
reduction of nearly one half the amount of his claims. Ar- 
nold, much incensed, appealed to congress, who caused his 
accounts to be re-investigated, and they were found worse 
than they had been represented by the first committee. Ar- 
nold poured out invectives against congress, till Pennsylvania, 
greatly offended, accused him of peculation, and brought him 



232 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

before a court martial, by which he was sentenced to be re- 
primanded by Washington. 

9. To obtain money, and gratify his revenge, he now sold 
himself and his country, to the British. His offers were ac- 
cepted ; and at the instigation of Clinton, he asked and ob- 
tained the command of West Point, the most important post 
in the possession of the Americans. This fortress, he enga- 
ged to deliver to the British commander, and for this purpose 
the traitor made instant dispositions, by so scattering his 
troops as to render them an easy prey, when his treason should 
be ready for consummation. All things were now prepared, 
and a few days would probably have sealed the fate of Ame- 
rica, when the whole plot was providentially discovered. 

10. To complete the negotiations, major Andre, aid-de- 
camp of general Clinton, was sent to have a personal inter- 
view with Arnold. Andre landed from the Vulture, a British 
sloop of war, which had been stationed near West Point, to 
facilitate the business. Arnold and Andre met at the house 
of one Smith, a refugee, situated within the American lines, 
where they spent the night in conference. But the day 
dawned before their arrangements were completed, and An- 
dre remained concealed through the day, during which time 
the Vulture found it necessary to change her position, in or- 
der to get out of the reach of a gun which had been so 
placed as to annoy her. 

1 1 . At night, Andre, at the persuasion of Arnold, changed 
his uniform for a common dress, and taking a pass, under 
the name of John Anderson, and being furnished with a horse 
by Smith, set out on his return to New- York, by land. 
He passed all the American out-posts in safety, and had 
reached Tarrytown, near the British lines, w r hen he was stop- 
ped by three militia men. Instead of producing his pas?. 
which would at once have procured his release, he inquired, 
" where are you from V 9 The soldier replied, " from below." 
" So am I," said Andre. The soldiers now commenced 
searching him, and found in his boot, papers in the hand 
writing of Arnold, which disclosed the whole plot. He of- 
fered them great rewards if they would permit him to escape. 
Happily for America, the love of country was stronger in the 
breasts of these brave men, than the love of wealth, and 
they delivered Andre to colonel Jameson, who commanded 
the advanced guard. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 233 

12. The names of Andre's captors, were John Paulding^ 
David Williams, and Isaac Van Wart — names which ought 
to be held in lasting remembrance by every American. An- 
dre, having been conducted to Jameson, solicited of him 
permission to send a letter to Arnold, informing him of the 
arrest of John Anderson. In the confusion of the moment^ 
this was granted, and Arnold, thus learning a fact so impor- 
tant to his own safety, ordered his barge, and escaped on 
board the Vulture. An express was immediately sent to 
Washington, who was that day expected at West Point from 
Hartford. The express missed him on the way, and he ar- 
rived at the fort without any intelligence of what had trans- 
pired. 

13. Andre was tried by a court martial, found guilty of 
having acted as a spy, and condemned to suffer death. Sir 
Henry Clinton, by whom he was greatly beloved, made every 
exertion to save him, but without effect. Washington was 
disposed to spare him, but strict adherence to military duty, 
and regard for the good of his country, forbade the exercise 
of that mercy which his heart dictated. Arnold escaped to 
the British, who rewarded his treason with the office of briga- 
dier general, and the sum of ten thousand pounds in money. 
At the close of the war, he went to England with the British 
army, but while he lived, he was scorned and derided by all 
who could despise a traitor. 

14. The battle of King's Mountain, occurred late in the 
summer of 1780. Cornwallis, after the battle of Camden, 
determined upon the subjugation of Korth Carolina. Col. 
Ferguson, a man infamous for his cruelty, had been sent into 
the province, where his course was marked with devastation. 
The Americans, collecting under several commanders, and 
arming themselves as well as they were able, determined to 
attack him, and if possible, punish his barbarity. The at- 
tack commenced with great vigour, and the Americans were 
successful. Ferguson was slain, and 300 of his men were 
killed or wounded, and the remainder surrendered. 

15. *On the night of the first of January, 1781, thirteen 
hundred of the Pennsylvania troops in the main army mutined. 
They paraded under arms at a given signal, and declared 
their intention of marching to Philadelphia, and demanding 
from congress a redress of their grievances. They procee- 
ded in good order as far as Princeton, general Wayne for- 



234 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

warding them provisions to prevent them from plundering the 
inhabitants. Here they were met by emmissaries from 
Sir Hemy Clinton, who made them liberal offers if they would 
desert the service of their country. The offers were reject- 
ed with disdain, and the emmissaries seized and placed in 
strict custody. 

16. At Princeton, a committee of congress, and a deputa- 
tion from the state of Pennsylvania, met the the mutineers, 
and the latter by granting a part of their demands, persuaded 
them to return to their duty. The emissaries of Clinton were 
then given up and executed as spies. This mutiny and ano- 
ther which occurred about the same time, excited the attention 
of the several states to the deplorable situation of their troops. 
The amount of three months pay was immediately raised and 
sent to them in specie. This was received with joy, as it af- 
forded evidence that their country was not ungrateful nor un- 
mindful of their sufferings. 

17. The plan of besieging New- York was again resumed 
by the Americans early in 1781. France, beside the force 
already sent out under Rochambeau, determined to send a 
large squadron under count D' Grasse, who was to perform 
certain duties in the West Indies, and then repair to America, 
and co-operate with Washington. Congress, at the close of 
1780, made every exertion to raise money and men. The 
bills of credit were now of no value, and congress itself had 
enacted that they should no longer be a legal tender in the 
payment of debts, or received for taxes. In this extremity, 
the American agents were authorized to borrow money from 
France, Spain, and Holland, and their attempts were success- 
ful. France gave the states six millions of livres, and Hol- 
land, on the security of Louis XVI. loaned them ten millions. 

1 8. Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, a man of pure integ- 
rity, and great financial ability, was appointed treasurer. By 
his exertions, the most favourable results were produced. 
Congress gave their consent to a national bank, and by this 
means the wealthy were induced to invest their funds where 
they could be of use to the publjck. The treasurer also 
borrowed money in the name of the government, and pledg- 
ed for payment, the taxes not yet collected. He also 
used his own private credit to a great extent ; as at one time 
bills signed by him alone, to the amount of five hundred and 
eighty-one thousand dollars, were in circulation. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 235 

19. On the 17th of Jan. was fought the battle of the Cow- 
pens, in which the British under colonel Tarleton met with a 
signal defeat by the Americans under colonel Morgan. The 
British lost in killed and wounded, three hundred men, while 
that of the Americans was only twelve killed and sixty wound- 
ed. Colonel Morgan took five hundred prisoners, and all the 
artillery and baggage of the enemy. Cornwallis was ex- 
tremely mortified at the defeat of his favourite, and immedi- 
ately prepared to pursue Morgan and re-capture his prisoners. 
A military race through the Carolinas now commenced, in 
which the Americans were twice saved from destruction only 
by the providential rising of the streams flowing between them 
and the pursuing army. 

20. The battle at Guilford court-house between the Amer- 
icans under general Greene, and the British under lord Corn- 
wallis occurred on the 15th of March. The army of Greene 
at this time amounted to six thousand men, militia and regu- 
lars. Soon after the firing commenced, several companies 
of the militia fled, and left the regulars to sustain the action 
alone. They fought an hour and a half with determined va- 
lour, and when forced by superiour numbers to retreat, they 
did it in good order, and without breaking their ranks. The 
total loss of the Americans in this action was about thirteen 
hundred ; that of the British was something less. Both com- 
manders found it necessary to retreat from the field of battle, 
and Greene retired to Speedwell's iron works, and Cornwal- 
lis to Wilmington. 

21. The principal posts of the British in Carolina, were 
at Camden, Charleston, Ninety-Six, and Augusta. They 
had garrisons also at several other places, so that their forces 
were much divided, and thus a fine opportunity was present- 
ed to the partisan generals, Sumpter and Marion, to cut them 
off in detail. This they did not fail to attempt, and by their 
prudent and alert movements, gained so many advantages 
over the British regulars and loyalists, that they held the 
whole of the lower part of the Carolinas in check, while 
Greene and his army kept lord Rawdon employed in the 
High-lands. The latter, finding his situation becoming dan- 
gerous, called in all his garrisons from places not capable of 
defence. 

22. On the 25th of April, the armies of Rawdon and 
Greene ? had an engagement at Hobkirk's hill, in which the 



236 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

latter was defeated. After the action, Greene retired a few 
miles from the field, to re-organize his army, while Rawdon, 
unable to follow him, though boasting of victory, evacuated 
Camden, and retired toward Charleston, and took post at 
Eutau Springs. In the meanwhile, the British garrisons at 
fort Watson, fort Motte, and at Georgetown, all of which 
had been invested previous to the action at Hobkirk's hill, 
surrendered to the Americans. By the capture of these 
places, eight hundred prisoners, and a quantity of military 
stores, fell into tne hands of the captors. The posts at 
Ninety-Six and Augusta, were the only ones which remained 
in the hands of the British in the upper country, and these 
were already invested by the militia under colonels Clark 
and Pickens, and that at Augusta soon capitulated. 

23. On the 1 8th of June, the Americans under Greene, 
hearing that Rawdon was approaching at the head of two 
thousand men, made an assault upon Ninety-Six. The gar- 
rison received them with great bravery, and the assailants 
were repulsed. Greene then withdrew toward North-Caro- 
lina, and three days after, Rawdon arrived at the fort. He 
examined the works, and finding them incapable of defence, 
he abandoned the place, and established his head quarters at 
Orangeburgh. Greene followed him, and took post on the 
heights of Santee. 

24. About this time, occurred the execution of colonel 
Hayne, one of the most tragical and disgraceful acts of 
which the British commanders were guilty during the war. 
At the commencement of the war, Hayne took part with 
America, and at the capture of Charleston, was among the 
prisoners. He was offered his choice of either becoming a 
loyalist, or of going into close confinement. As his family 
was at that time ill with the small-pox at his plantation, his 
feelings as a husband and a father, triumphed over those of 
a patriot, and he consented to acknowledge his allegiance to 
the British crown, on the express condition that he was not 
to bear arms against his countrymen. 

25. By the "death of his wife and two of his children, and 
still more by the total disregard of the British to their solemn 
engagement, that he should not be called upon to bear arms 
against his country, Hayne felt himself released from his ob- 
ligations, and he again joined the Americans. In a skirmish 
soon after, he was again taken prisoner, and without even the 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 237 

form of a trial, condemned by Rawdon to suffer death. The 
loyalists, the governour of Carolina, and the ladies of Charles- 
ton, interceded in his behalf, but nothing could move the sa- 
vage heart of Rawdon, and amid the tears of even sympa- 
thizing foes, Hayne was led to execution. Soon after, Raw- 
don, followed by execrations, sailed for England, and colonel 
Stuart took command of the army. 

26, The battle at Eutau Springs, which was fought 
on the 8th of September, 1781, waf distinguished as be- 
ing one of the most bloody during the war, and the last en- 
gagement of any note, which occurred at the south. After a 
severe contest, victory seemed to declare for the Americans 
under Greene, who had drawn up his forces with great skill 
The British being forced to retire, took possession in their 
flight of a large stone house, where they made so determined 
a stand, that Greene, finding it impossible to dislodge them, 
withdrew his troops. The whole loss of the British amount- 
ed to one thousand killed and wounded > and five hundred 
taken prisoners. The loss of the Americans was about six 
hundred. The whole of the states of South Carolina and 
Georgia, except Charleston and Savannah, were now in the 
possession of the Americans. 

$7. Previous to these events, Arnold, the traitor, had 
landed in the vicinity of Richmond, Virginia, at the head of 
seventeen hundred men, and destroyed all the publick stores 
collected at that place. La Fayette was sent by Washington, 
at the head of twelve hundred light infantry, to oppose the 
progress of Arnold, and the commander of the French squad- 
ron at Rhode Island, detached a part of his fleet to cut off 
his retreat by the way of the Chesapeake. Clinton, hearing 
of this movement, sent admiral Arbuthnot, with a squadron 
equal in force to that of the French, to relieve Arnold. The 
■two fleets met off Cape Henry, and a partial engagement en- 
sued, with nearly equal loss on both sides. 

28. Cornwallis was now directed to fortify himself at 
Yorktown, by Clinton, who having received a re-enforcement 
of three thousand Germans, believed himself able to defend 
New-York, which was threatened by Washington. On the 
23d of August, Cornwallis entered Yorktown, and immedi- 
ately commenced erecting fortifications. Washington had 
in reality intended to have besieged New- York, but not re- 
reiving the supplies he expected, and hearing that D'e Grassc 
21 



238 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

the French admiral, could not remain on the coast longei 
than October, and that his instructions destined him to the 
Chesapeake, he changed his purpose, and determined to use 
every exertion for the capture of Cornwallis. 

29. For this purpose he suddenly broke up his camp at 
New- Windsor, crossed the Hudson, and attended by the 
French army under Rochambeau, began a rapid march to- 
ward Virginia. To prevent Clinton from sending aid to 
Cornwallis, which he might at this time easily have done, 
Washington caused a report to be spread, that this was only 
a feint to draw Clinton out of New-York, and bring on a 
general battle. Hearing that De Grasse was now near the 
Chesapeake, the American commander no longer delayed 
crossing the Delaware, well satisfied that no aid could now 
reach Cornwallis. On the 25th of August he reached the 
head of Elk, the northern extremity of the Chesapeake, and 
embarking his troops, on the 25th of September the allied 
forces arrived at the appointed place of rendezvous. The 
united French and American forces amounted to sixteen 
thousand men, provided with a formidable train of artillery. 

30. To withdraw Washington from his design, Clinton 
despatched Arnold, who had just returned from Virginia, on 
an expedition against New-London. Arnold despatched a 
part of his troops against fort Griswold, which stood nearly 
opposite New-London, and assaulted it on three sides at 
once. Many of the assailants were killed, but pressing for- 
ward, they entered the fort, and all resistance on the part of 
the garrison immediately ceased. A British officer inquired 
who commanded the fort. "I did," replied colonel Led- 
yard, " but you do now," and surrendered his sword. The 
wretch immediately plunged it into his breast, and his sol- 
diers, following his example, commenced an indiscriminate 
massacre. One hundred and twenty were either killed or 
wounded, forty only escaped. The enemy then entered 
New-London and destroyed it. 

31. On the 9th of October, the Americans and French 
at Yorktown, opened a heavy cannonade upon the British 
lines. On the 11th, the second parallel, three hundred 
yards in front of the first was commenced. From the bat- 
teries here erected, the fire was still more furious and de- 
structive. Cornwallis, seeing no hope of safety except in 
flight, on the evening of the 16th, attempted to cross over to 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 239 

Gloucester, intending to force his way through the troops 
stationed at that point, and proceed by rapid marches to 
New- York. But before the first division of his army reached 
the opposite shore, a violent storm dispersed his boats, and 
the project was abandoned. 

32. On the 19th of October, Cornwallis and his army 
capitulated. The naval force in the harbour surrendered to 
the French admiral, and the garrison to the Americans. The 
same terms were granted to the British, as they had conceded 
to the Americans, at the surrender of Charleston, and gene- 
ral Lincoln was designated by Washington to receive the 
sword of Cornwallis. The whole number of prisoners taken 
amounted to seven thousand, of which near three thousand 
were unfit for service. Five hundred and fifty-two of the 
British fell during the siege. The same day that the capitu- 
lation was signed, Clinton passed Sandy Hook with a strong 
force, to go to the relief of Cornwallis ; but on reaching the 
Capes of Virginia, and learning the surrender of the army, 
he returned to New- York. p 

33. The capture of a second British army, caused great 
exultation and joy throughout the United States, and in one 
instance, the emotions produced were so great as to cause 
immediate death. A day of publick thanksgiving was ap- 
pointed, and congress went in procession to the Lutheran 
church, to acknowledge their obligations to the Supreme 
Ruler of the universe. The loss of a second entire army, 
fully convinced the British ministry of the hopelessness of a 
longer contention ; and the people of England, groaning 
under the weight of the heavy expense incurred for carrying 
it on, demanded, with unanimous voice, the termination of 
the war. 

QUESTIONS 

1. With what did the campaign of 1780 commence?— 2. What ar- 
rived at Rhode Island about this time ? — 3. Who greatly distinguish- 
ed themselves in South Carolina ?— 4. What occurred August 6th ?— 
5. What August 16th ?— 6. What was the result of the battle of Cam- 
den ? — 7. While these events were transpiring at the south, what was 
discovered at the north ?— 8. What did Arnold do to supply his want 
of money to support his extravagance ? — 9. To gratify his revenge, 
what did he do ? — 10. What measure was taken to complete the nego- 
tiation ?— 11. What did Andre do at night ?—- 12. What were the 
names of Andre's captors ?— 13. What became of Andre ?— 14. What 
battle occurred late in the summer of 1780 ?—l5. What took place on 
the night of the 1st Jan, 1781 ?— 16. What took place at Princeton ?— 



240 AMERICAN HISTORY 






17. What plan was resumed by the Americans early in 1781 ? — Ife, 
Who was appointed treasurer bv congress ? — 19. What battle occur 
red 17th Jan. ?— 20. What on 'l 5th xMarch ?— 21. Where were the 
principal posts of the British in Carolina ? — 22. What occurred on 
the 25th April ?— 23. What on the 18th June ?— 24. What about the 
same time? — 25. For what reasons did Hayne feel himself released 
from his obligations ? — 26. What is said of the battle of Eutau Springs, 
fought on the 8th Sept. 1781 ? — 27. What took place previous to these 
events ?— 28. What did Clinton direct Comwallis to do?— 29. After 
Washington had determined to attack Cornwallis, what did he do ? — 
30. What did Clinton do, in order 10 withdraw Washington from his 
design ? — 31. What took place on the 9th October? — 32. What on the 
19th ? — 33. What effect did the capture of a second British army pro 
duce ? 

tiamm y^, flh 0fk A444* gmm 

SECTION XL 

TERMINATION OF THE WAR. FEDERAL CONSTITUTION. 
JEFFERSON CHOSEN PRESIDENT. 

1. About the last of February, 1782, the English house 
of commons resolved " that they should consider as ene- 
mies to his majesty and tneir country, all who should advise 
or attempt a further prosecution of offensive war on the con- 
tinent of America." The resignation of lord North as prime 
minister, immediately followed the adoption of the above 
resolution. Sir Guy Carleton was appointed to succeed Sir 
Henry Clinton, as the commander-in-chief of the British 
forces in America, and admiral Digby was united with the 
former, to act as agents for treating with congress with regard 
to a peace, adopting as a basis, the acknowledgement of 
American independence. But congress, finding that parlia- 
ment had not authorized this step of the ministry, declined 
the negotiation. 

2. In order to be prepared for an overture, when it should 
be properly offered, congress appointed John Adams, Benja- 
min Franklin, John Jay, and Henry Laurens, commissioners 
to treat with the court of Great Trritain. To meet these 
commissioners, Mr. Fitz Herbert and Mr. Oswald were sent 
to Paris on the part of the British. On the 20th of January, 
1783, preliminary articles of peace were agreed upon at 
Versailles. As the differences between France and England 
were not yet adjusted, the definitive treaty was not signed 
till September 3, 1783. The terms granted to America by 
this treaty, were fully equal to the most sanguine expectations 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 241 

of her friends, and the British ministers seemed aware of the 
policy of making her independent in fact as well as in name, 
and the more so, as France appeared to indulge a contrary 
disposition. 

3. On the 10th of March, the American army, then lying 
at Newburgh, a serious disturbance took place among the 
officers, arising from aqi apprehension that they should be 
disbanded before the settlement of their arrearages. An 
anonymous address, written in the most glowing style, was 
circulated among the officers, and inviting them to meet on 
the ensuing day. Washington, aware of the state of feeling 
in the army, and intent on guiding what he could not prevent, 
issued a general order, calling a meeting of the officers on 
the day mentioned by the anonymous writer, but at a later 
hour, and alluding to the address in terms of the most pointed 
disapprobation. 

4. In the interim, he prepared an address, and at the time 
appointed repaired to the place of meeting, where the officers 
being assembled, the illustrious chief arose to read the manu- 
script which he held in his hand. Being unable to distin- 
guish the characters, he took off his spectacles, and wiping 
them, said, " My eyes have grown dim in the service of my 
country, but I never doubted her justice. " Ke then deliver- 
ed his address, in which he alluded to the services and suffer- 
ings of the army, in the most feeling manner— -services and 
sufferings of which he had borne his full share ; treated with 
dignified severity the proposition to obtain by unlawful means 
redress of their grievances ; assured the officers that con- 
gress were favourable to the best interests of the army ; and 
concluded by conjuring them not to tarnish their glory by any 
act of folly and rashness, and pledging himself to use his 
exertions to procure from congress the just reward of their 
merit. 

5. On the 4th of December, Washington took leave of 
the officers of his army, at New- York, which place had been 
evacuated by the British on the 25th of November, and im- 
mediately entered by a detachment of the American army. 
On Tuesday, at noon, the principal officers haying assembled 
at Francis' tavern, to take a final leave of their much loved 
commander-in-chief, his excellency entered the room. With 
emotions too strong to be concealed, he filled a glass with 
wine, and said/ " With a heart full of love and gratitude, I 

21* 

A- 



242 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

now take my leave of you. I most devoutly wish that you * 
latter days may be as prosperous and happy, as your former 
ones have been glorious and honourable." Then having 
drank, he requested the officers in succession to take him by 
the hand. General Knox, standing nearest, turned to him. 
Washington, in tears, grasped his hand, embraced and kissed 
him. In the same manner having taken leave of all the of- 
ficers, he left the room and passed to White Hall, where his 
barge was waiting to convey him to Paulus Hook. He then, 
having entered the barge, took off his hat and waved a silent 
farewell to his companions in arms, who had followed him. 
They paid him the same affectionate compliment, and the 
barge leaving the wharf, they returned in mute procession to 
the inn they had left, and soon after separated, each to his 
respective home. 

6. On the 23d of December, Washington resigned into 
the hands of congress the commission which, eight years be- 
fore, they had given him. This being accomplished, in the 
presence of an immense concourse of spectators, who were 
deeply affected at the recollection of the scenes through 
Which the illustrious man before them had conducted his 
country, he bade farewell to congress, and retired to Mount 
Vernon, followed by the prayers and benedictions of his 
countrymen, and the esteem and admiration of Europe. 

7. The United States, at the close of the war, were in a 
deplorable situation ; commerce languished ; a heavy debt 
was incurred ; manufactures had decayed ; heavy taxes were 
necessarily imposed ; and great discontents prevailed. The 
state governments adopted various expedients for the relief 
of their citizens. Rhode Island issued a quantity of paper 
money, a measure which involved that state in a difficulty 
which the general government had experienced — a depreci- 
ation of currency and loss of credit. 

8. In Massachusetts an insurrection happened, at the head 
of which was one Daniel Shays. The passing of several 
laws by the general court, which were deemed oppressive, 
and the distress which everywhere prevailed, were the causes 
Of the rebellion. In August, fifteen hundred insurgents as- 
sembled at Northampton, and took possession of the court- 
house, intending, by preventing the sitting of the court, to 
prevent the execution of the obnoxious laws. General Lin- 
coln was sent against the rebels, and general Shepard was 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 24g 

directed to secure the arsenal at Springfield. On the 25th 
of January, Shays, at the head of eleven hundred men, ap- 
proached the barracks in that town, and demanded their sur- 
render. Shepard, after warning the insurgents of their dan- 
ger, ordered his men to fire over their heads. This not in- 
timidating them, he caused his fire to be directed against the 
centre of the column, by which three were killed and one 
wounded. The rebels then dispersed and returned to their 
homes. 

9. A convention of delegates to form a new constitution 
for the United States, met at Philadelphia, in May, 1787, 
George Washington was chosen president of the convention, 
and after deliberating four months, they agreed upon a con- 
stitution for the United States of America, which being re- 
ported to Congress, was submitted for ratification to the se- 
veral states. Eleven of them gave their consent to its pro- 
visions, and subsequently the other two also acceded. The 
4th of March, 1789, was the day appointed for the new con- 
stitution to go into operation, and for the inauguration of the 
president. 

10. According to this constitution, the general government 
consists of three departments, the legislative, the executive, 
and the judicial. The first consists of a senate and house of 
representatives ; the former chosen by the state legislatures, 
each state choosing two ; the latter are chosen by the people, 
according to a fixed ratio of population, and each represen- 
tative holds his office two years. The executive power is 
vested in the president, who is chosen by electors, and holds 
his office four years. He is commander-in-chief of the 
land and naval forces of the United States ; nominates to the 
senate all officers of the general government, and with the 
advice and consent of two thirds of that body, ratifies trea- 
ties. A vice-president is chosen at the same time with the 
president, and in the same manner, who in case of the ab- 
sence, death, or resignation of the president, performs the du- 
ties of his office. He is also president of the senate. The 
judicial power of the United States is vested in a supreme 
court, and such inferiour courts as congress may establish, 
and its power extends to all controversies between citizens 
of different states, and between citizens and foreigners ; to 
admiralty and maritime cases, as well as to those which arise 
under the constitution, the laws of congress, and treaties* 



;J44 AMERICAN HISTORY. 






The judges hold their offices during good behaviour, and re- 
ceive a salary from the general government. 

11. George Washington, by a unanimous vote of the elec- 
tors, was chosen the first president under the new constitu- 
tion, and on the 30th of April his inauguration took place at 
the city hall in New- York. An immense concourse of spec- 
tators assembled to witness the ceremony ; and the novelty 
of the transaction, as well as its importance ; the mild dignity 
of Washington's manners, united with his exalted character ; 
the remembrance of the recent sufferings and achievements 
of America, in all of which he had borne a conspicuous 
share, contributed to give interest and solemnity to the scene. 
The several departments of the general government were 
next filled. Thomas Jefferson was made secretary of state ; 
colonel Hamilton secretary of the treasury ; general Knox 
secretary of war ; Edmund Randolph attorney general ; and 
John Jay first judge of the supreme court. 

12. At the next session of congress, 1790, Mr. Hamilton 
made his celebrated report on the subject of the publick 
debts. In this report, after taking an able and enlarged view 
of the subject, he recommended that all the debts of the con- 
tinental congress, as well as those of the several states, in- 
curred in the common cause, should be assumed by the ge- 
neral government, and that provision should be made for 
paying the interest, by imposing a tax on certain articles of 
luxury, and on spirits distilled within the country. This re- 
port occasioned a long and animated debate in congress, and 
greatly excited the publick mind. At length the recommen- 
dation of the secretary was adopted, and the debts were as- 
sumed. The whole sum thus funded, amounted to about 
.seventy-five millions of dollars. Of this, a part was to draw 
three percent., and the remainder six per cent, interest. 

13. In the year 1791, a national bank was incorporated. 
The same year, the tax on domestick distilled spirits was 
laid, according to the recommendation of the secretary, but 
the measure met with violent opposition. This year, Ver- 
mont adopted the federal constitution, and was admitted into 
the union. To the territory of this state, both New-Hamp- 
shire and New-York had laid claim, and within its limits both 
had made grants of land. Refusing to submit to either, the 
inhabitants, in 1777, declared themselves independent. The 
6?Bt census of the United States was completed in 1791 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 24B 

The number of inhabitants at that time, amounted to three 
millions nine hundred and twenty-one thousand three hun- 
dred and twenty-six ; the revenue to $4,771,000 ; the ex- 
ports to $19,000,000, and the imports to $20,000,000. 

14. A war with the Indians in Ohio, commenced in 1792, 
The president, after having in vain attempted paciiick mea- 
sures, sent general Harmer, at the head of fourteen hundred 
men, to attempt the reduction of the hostile tribes. He suc- 
ceeded in destroying many of their villages, as well as much 
of their corn ; but in an engagement near Chilicothe, he was 
defeated, with the loss of a considerable number of his men. 
General St. Clair, upon the defeat of Harmer, was sent into 
the Indian country, with a force amounting to two thousand 
men, with which he marched into the wilderness in the month 
of October. 

15. On the 3d of Nov., St. Clair encamped near the Mi- 
ami villages with his army, which, by various means, was now 
reduced to fourteen hundred. At this place he intended to 
remain till re-enforced. Before sunrise the next morning* 
immediately after the troops were dismissed from parade, 4 the 
Indians made an unexpected attack upon the camp. The 
militia who were posted in front, fell back in great disorder 
upon the regulars, and these having been hastily formed, were 
thrown into confusion. With great intrepidity, however, they 
rallied, and advancing into the midst of the enemy, forced 
them from covert to covert. But as soon as the troops re- 
turned, the Indians renewed the attack. At length, after a 
conflict of three hours, general St. Clair being wounded, a 
retreat was ordered, which was effected, and the remains of 
the army saved from total destruction. In this action the 
Americans lost six hundred and thirty killed and missing, two 
hundred and sixty wounded, together with the camp and ar- 
tillery. 

16. Kentucky was admitted into the union in 1792. The 
same year a mint was established by congress, and the 
weight and value of the coin to be used in the United States 
regulated. The first term of Washington's service as pre- 
sident having expired, he was again unanimously chosen* and 
was inaugurated March 4th, 1793. Mr. Adams was also re- 
elected vice-president. Through the intervention of the Six 
Nations, a treaty of peace was made with the Indians on the 
Wabash this year, and the Miamis consented to a conference. 



246 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

17. The French revolution about this time began to affect 
the politicks of the United States. Greatly oppressed by in- 
stitutions which originated in times of despotism and igno- 
rance, and excited by the example of America, the people of 
France had risen in their strength, and declared their intention 
of being free. Under their united exertions, the ancient 
forms of government were overthrown ; the king, the queen, 
and all the hereditary orders were destroyed, and a new form 
of government arose from the ashes of the old. The funda* 
mental principle of this government was, the universal equal- 
ity of man, and his right to adopt such forms of government 
as his exigences might appear to require. 

18. In April, 1793, the president issued a proclamation of 
neutrality. France had just declared war against England 
and Holland, and Washington, sensible that, aa America had 
but recently closed a long and expensive war, paace was es- 
sential to her prosperity, deemed it unwise to involve the 
country in a contest with either of the belligerants. The 
adoption of a neutral course was strongly advised by the cabi- 
net of state, and was the more honourable to the government, 
as the sympathies of the people were strongly enlisted on the 
side of France, as being a sister republick, and as having es- 
sentially contributed to the establishment of American inde- 
pendence. About this time, the French minister, Genet, ar- 
rived at Charleston, South Carolina, and presuming from the 
flattering reception given him that he should be able with 
ease to induce America to espouse the cause of his country, 
he began to fit out privateers from the port of Charleston to 
cruise against the commerce of Britain. The president dis- 
approved of Mr. Genet's measures, and congress when it met 
sanctioned that disapprobation. The French government 
immediately recalled the offending minister, and appointed 
Mr. Fauchet in his room. 

19. In the autumn of 1794, the Whiskey insurrection took 
place in Pennsylvania. Ever since the passage of the act 
imposing a duty on domestick distilled liquors, great dissatis- 
faction had existed. At Pittsburg, a meeting of the disaffect- 
ted was held, committees of correspondence were establish- 
ed, andaforce of seven thousand malecontents was organized. 
A proclamation which the president had issued, enjoining all 
persons to abstain from all illegal associations, being disre- 
£arded,he thought it necessary to resort to more vigorous men 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 247 

sures. Accordingly the militia of the neighbouring states 
was called out to the number of fifteen thousand men, and 
placed under the command of general Lee, of Virginia. This 
display of force had the desired effect. No resistance was 
attempted, and sixteen of the most active leaders of the in-* 
surrection were arrested, tried, and convicted of treason — 
but afterward pardoned. 

20. About this time, general Wayne was appointed to suc« 
ceed St. Clair in the command of the army destined to act 
against the western Indians. Having in vain attempted to 
negotiate with them, Wayne, at the head of three thousand 
men, marched into their country, and a battle ensued near 
the Miami of the Lakes. The Indians were defeated, a vast 
number of them were killed, and their towns destroyed. This 
victory disposed the hostile tribes for peace, and had a favour- 
able influence upon the Six Nations. January 1, 1795, Mr. 
Hamilton resigned his office of secretary of the treasury, and 
Oliver Wolcott, of Connecticut, was appointed his successor. 
At the same time, general Knox resigned the office of secre- 
tary of war, and was succeeded by Timothy Pickering. 

21. Mr. Jay, in the spring of 1795, negotiated a treaty 
with England, and returned to America. This treaty gave 
rise to long and spirited debates in the senate, but it was fi- 
nally ratified. By the terms of the treaty, all the posts which 
the British had retained, were to be given up to the Ameri- 
cans ; compensation was to be made for illegal captures ; the 
United States were to pay <£600,000 to the British govern- 
ment in trust for the creditors of American citizens in Eng- 
land ; but it contained no relinquishment of the right of 
search, or recognition of the principle that "free ships make 
free trade." While the treaty was under consideration in the 
senate, a member of that body incautiously divulged a part of 
its provisions, and the information was circulated with rapidi- 
ty to every part of the union. Much irritation of the publick 
mind was the consequence, and the president received ad- 
dresses from all quarters, praying him to withhold his signa- 
ture frofn the treaty. Washington, however, thinking it the 
best which could be procured at that time, in defiance of pop- 
ular clamour, signed it, and the senate, after some delay, 
made the necessary appropriations for carrying it into effect. 

22. The same year, treaties were also made with Algiers, 
the Indian tribes in the west, and with Spain. By these x& 



248 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

spective treaties, the American commerce in the Mediterra- 
nean was opened, and the American captives at Algiers re- 
stored ; the -vestern frontiers secured from invasion ; and the 
right of navigating the Mississippi and of deposit at New-Or- 
leans obtained. The conduct of France still giving umbrage 
to the American government, Mr. Monroe was sent out as 
minister to that power, and was received in the most flatter- 
ing manner by the French national convention. Mr. Adet 
was soon after sent by the French as minister to the United 
States, in the room of Mr. Fauchet, who was recalled. But 
notwithstanding the professions of friendship made on these 
occasions, France still laboured to involve America in her 
European contests, and committed great depredations on her 
commerce. Mr. Monroe was at length recalled, and Charles 
Pinkney sent out in his stead. 

23. In September, 1796, Washington being about to retire 
from publick life, published a farewell address to the Ameri- 
can people. John Adams, of Massachusetts, was chosen to 
-succeed Washington in the presidency, and Thomas Jeffer- 
son, of Virginia, was elected vice-president. They were 
inducted into office on the 4th of March, 1798. Soon after 
he came into office, Mr. Adams received information from 
Mr. Pinkney, that he had not been accepted as American 
minister by the French directory, and that he had been order- 
ed to quit the kingdom. Congress was immediately conven- 
ed, and passed laws, increasing the navy, augmenting the re- 
venue, and authorizing the president to detach eighty thousand 
men from the militia. 

24. To prevent war if possible, Mr. Adams sent three en- 
voys-extraordinary to France — Mr. Pinkney, Mr. Marshall, 
and Mr. Gerry. These the French government also refused 
to receive ; but an indirect intercourse was opened with them 
by M. Talleyrand, Minister for foreign affairs, by means of 
unofficial persons. From them a proposal was received, 
that a considerable sum of money should be given to Talley- 
rand, intimating, that if this was done, negotiations might be 
opened. The envoys rejected the proposition with disgust. 

-.After a residence of several months in Paris, all the envoys 
except Mr. Gerry were ordered to leave France, and he was 
solicited singly to enter into a negotiation. This he refused, 
:ind Mr. Adams soon after recalled him. 

• 25. These events were followed by depredations onAmr- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 249 

jfican commerce by the cruisers of France. Publick indig- 
nation was greatly excited, and congress not considering the 
treaty with France any longer in force, adopted measures for 
retaliation and defence. A provisional army was raised, and 
general Washington was appointed commander-in-chief. The 
navy was increased, and reprisals made on the ocean. The 
French frigate L'Insurgente, of forty guns, was captured 
by the American frigate Constellation, of thirty-eight, com- 
manded by commodore Truxton. Wljen France heard of 
these vigorous movements, the government made proposals 
for renewing the negotiations, and Mr. Adams appointed 01i« 
ver Elsworth, Patrick Henry, and William Yan Murray, en- 
voys to Paris, for concluding a peace. The envoys, on their 
arrival, found Napoleon Bonaparte at the head of the govern* 
ment, and with him they soon came to an amicable arrange- 
ment of all differences. , 

26. On the 14th of December, 1799, general Washington 
expired at Mount Vernon, after an illness of twenty-four 
hours. He died in the sixty-eighth year of his age. The 
news of his death spread with rapidity through the union, and 
as it spread, filled every heart with grief, and every eye with 
tears. The publick journals, dressed in mourning, uniting 
with the tolling bells, announced to the weeping sons of liber- 
ty, " the father of his country is no more." In every consi- 
derable town the people assembled in the churches to listen 
to addresses, sermons, and elegies, adapted to the solemn 
and mournful occasion. The senate addressed a letter to the 
president of the U. S. expressing their sense of the common loss; 
and the house of representatives* directed that the speaker's 
chair should be dressed in black, and that the members should 
wear black during the remainder of the session. A commit- 
tee from both houses of congress were also appointed to de- 
vise a suitable method of paying proper honours to the memo- 
ry of the illustrious dead. In conformity to arrangements 
made by the committee, congress assembled in the German 
Lutheran church, where an eloquent and impressive oration 
was delivered by general Lee, of Virginia. 

27. In the year 1800, the seat of government was removed 
from Philadelphia to the city of Washington. The states of 
Virginia and Maryland had ceded to the United States a ter- 
ritory ten miles square, on both sides of the Potomack, 4& 
few miles from Mount Vernon. In November of this year? 

22 



S 



250 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

congress met for the first time in the new capital. Indiana 
was constituted a state this year, and a territorial government 
established in Mississippi. About this time, congress passed 
the alien and sedition laws. By the former of these laws, 
the president was authorized to direct any alien whom he 
should judge inimical to the publick peace, to depart the 
country immediately on pain of imprisonment. By the sedi 
tion law a heavy fine and imprisonment was inflicted upon a! 
such as should "combine or conspire together to oppose any 
measure of government," and upon all such as should " write, 
print, utter, publish, &c. any false, scandalous and malicious 
writing against the government of the United States, or either 
house of the congress of the United States, or the president, 
&c." Under this last law, several persons were actually im- 
prisoned, and the publick sympathies being awakened in their 
behalf, Mr. Adams, and all who promoted the passage of the 
two laws above mentioned, became very unpopular. 

28. On the 4th of March, Thomas Jefferson was inaugu- 
rated president, and Aaron Burr vice-president of the United 
States. On his accession to office, Mr. Jefferson instead of 
addressing congress by a speech, as had been usual with his 
predecessors, sent them a written message, which, after being 
read by the senate, was by them transmitted to the house of 
representatives. This practice has uniformly been sanction- 
ed by all successive presidents. This year a second census 
of the United States was taken. The population was found 
to be 5,319,762, being an increase of 1,400,000 in ten years. 
In the same space of time, the exports increased from 
19,000,000, to 94,000,000*and the revenue from 4,771,000. 
to 12,945,000 dollars. 

29. Ohio was admitted into the union in 1802. The terri- 
tory occupied by this state, was originally claimed by Virginia 
and Connecticut, but was ceded by them to the United States 
at different times. Slavery was entirely excluded from the 
new state. In the same year the port of New-Orleans was 
closed against American shipping. The Spanish govern- 
ment having ceded Louisana to the French, the Intend- 
ant received orders to make preparations for delivering the 
country to the French commissioners. In consequence of 
this order, notice was given that the citizens of the United 
States would no longer be permitted to deposit their mer- 
chandise at New-Orleans. Thus the Western states were 



AMERICAN HISTORY, 25i 

in danger of suffering the total ruin of their commerce, and 
the publick mind was greatly excited. All difficulties were 
however removed in 1803, by the purchase of Louisana from 
France for the sum of fifteen millions of dollars. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What did the English house of commons resolve about the last of 
Feb. 1782?— 2. Whom did congress appoint commissioners to treat 
with Great Britain ? — 3. While the American army was lying at New- 
burgh, what took place on the 10th March ? — 4. What did Washington 
do in the interim to appease the discontents ? — 5. What took place on 
the 4th Dec.?— 6. What on the 23d Dec.?— 7. What is said of the Uni- 
ted States at the close of the war ? — 8. What occurred in Massachu- 
setts ?— 9. What met at Philadelphia May, 1787 ?—10. Of how many 
departments does the government consist, according to this constitu- 
tion? — 11. Who was chosen first president of the United States? — 12. 
What was done at the next session of congress? — 13. When was a na- 
tional bank incorporated 1 — 14. What war commenced in 1792? — 15 
Where did St. Clair encamp on the 3d Nov.? — 16. When was Ken- 
tucky admitted into the union ? — 17. What about this time began to af- 
fect the politicks of the United States ? — 18. What was done in April. 
1793?— 19. What occurred in the autumn of 1794 ?— 20. Who about 
this time was appointed to succeed St. Clair ? — 21. What did Mr. Jay 
do in the spring of 1795? — 22. What other treaties were made the 
same year ?— 23. What did Washington do in Sept. 1796?— 24. Whta 
did Mr. Adams do to prevent war with France ?- 25. What were these 
events followed by ?— 26. What occurred on the 14th Dec. 1799?— 27. 
When was the city of Washington made the seat of government ?— 28. 
What occurred on the 4th March, 1801 ? — 29. When was Ohio admit 
ted into the union ? 

SECTION XII. 

WAR WITH TRIPOLI. DIFFICULTIES WITH FRANCE AND ENG- 
LAND. EMBARGO LAID. WAR WITH ENGLAND. 
CAPTURE OF HULL. 

1. In 1801, war was commenced between the United 
States and Tripoli. In the prosecution of this war, congress 
sent out commodore Dale with a fleet consisting of two fri- 
gates, and a sloop of war. With these he blockaded the har- 
hour of Tripoli, and prevented the vessels of those pirates 
from leaving it, thus affording protection to American com- 
merce. Congress having determined on more vigorous mea- 
sures, early in 1803, sent commodore Preble with a squadron 
of seven sail into the Mediterranean, 



252 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

2. la October, Preble sent captain Bainbridge in the fri- 
gate Philadelphia, to reconnoitre the harbour of Tripoli, but 
in chasing a small vessel, he ran the frigate aground, and she 
was captured. The Tripolitans considered the officers 
prisoners of war, but treated the crew as slaves. As soon 
information of the capture of the frigate reached the squad- 
ron, Stephen Decatur, then a lieutenant in the navy, determin- 
ed to prevent the barbarians from reaping any benefit from 
their success. Obtaining the consent of the commodore, 
he procured a small ketch, and in February, 1804, sailed 
from Syracuse, with a crew of seventy men. He entered 
the harbour of Tripoli, laid his vessel along side of the fri- 
gate, which was moored under the guns of the castle, rushed 
with his crew on board the Philadelphia, drove the Tripoli- 
tans into the sea, and settkig fire to the ship, made his escape 
without the loss of a man. 

3. In 1803, captain William Eaton, who had been United 
States' consul at Tunis, having obtained the sanction of con- 
gress, undertook to dethrone the bashaw of Tripoli. To 
effect this, he entered into a league with Hamet, an elder 
brother of the bashaw, and whom he had expelled from the 
throne. Hamet was furnished with an army by the bey of 
Egypt, and Eaton was appointed to the command. With 
a few hundred men, he marched across the desert from Egypt 
to Derne, a Tripolitan city on the Mediterranean, a distance 
of one thousand miles, which he summoned to surrender. 
The governour returned for answer, "My head or yours." 
Eaton then attacked the city, and after a conflict of two 
hours and a half, took it. 

4. On the 8th of May, Eaton was attacked by the whole 
Tripolitan army. Although the assailants were far more 
numerous than the army of Eaton, yet, after a contest of 
four hours, they were compelled to retire. On the 10th of 
June, they made another attempt, with no better success. 
The next day an American frigate came into the harbour of 
Derne, and the Tripolitans fled into the desert. The alarm 
spread to Tripoli, and while the bashaw was under its influ- 
ence, colonel Lear, the United States' consul, concluded a 
treaty, by which it was stipulated that an exchange of pri- 
soners should take place, and as the bashaw had a balance in 
his favour of nearly two hundred, it was agreed that the 
United States should pay sixty thousand dollars, as the prior 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 253 

of their ransom. Upon the conclusion of this treaty, all 
support from Hamet was withdrawn, and the war in the Me- 
diterranean terminated. 

5. In July, 1805, general Alexander Hamilton was mur- 
dered in a duel by colonel Aaron Burr, vice-president of 
the United "States. Colonel Burr had addressed a letter to 
general Hamilton, requiring him to deny or acknowledge 
certain offensive expressions in a publick journal, of which 
the former supposed the latter to be the author. This was 
refused, and a challenge ensuing, the parties met, and at the 
first fire Hamilton fell. He was the idol of one of the great 
political parties in the union, and the aversion of the other ; 
but as a man of talents and of eloquence, as a scholar and 
as a gentleman, he stood without a rival. The city of New- 
York paid extraordinary honours to his memory. Colonel 
Burr, his antagonist, from the time that Hamilton fell, ap- 
peared to sink in the estimation of his countrymen, and sub- 
sequent events contributed to lessen him still more, till at the 
present time, his name seems to be forgotten, except as 
brought to mind by the pen of the historian. 

6. On the 4th of March, 1805, Mr. Jefferson was the se- 
cond time inducted into office as president of the United 
States. George Clinton, of New- York, was chosen vice- 
president. The condition of Europe at this time placed the 
American states in a situation eminently difficult. France, 
after surviving the war of the revolution, found a man at the 
head of her government, who, by his immense powers of 
mind, and his resources, acquired a greater or less control 
over many of the European nations. With Bonaparte at 
her head, France made a stand against the maritime power of 
England, and the latter power resisted France in her attempts 
by land. Both these nations seemed determined that even 
those who wished to be neutral, should unite with either one 
or the other contending powers ; and the maxim upon which 
they both appeared to act was, that any nation which should 
not resent the injuries of the one, should experience the dis- 
pleasure of the other. 

7. With regard to the right of search, and the impress- 
ment of British subjects from neutral merchant vessels as 
well as ships of war, a great difference of sentiment was 
professed by the governments of England and America. 
By the constitution of the U« S., man is considered as being 

22* 



254 AMERICAN HISTORY. 






born free ; having the right to withdraw his allegiance from 
the government under which he was born, and remove to any 
other which he might prefer. Acting upon these principles, 
congress had early enacted laws, by obedience to which, all 
who chose to emigrate to the United States might become 
naturalized, and enjoy the same privileges as ^natural born 
citizens. This principle was not recognized by England, 
who contended that a man born under any government, could 
not, by any act of his, change his allegiance to that govern- 
ment. Hence, whenever her interest or convenience requir- 
ed, she claimed her subjects, and as the two nations speak 
the same language, many acts of unjustifiable oppression oc- 
curred, and much publick and private injury was sustained. 

8. In 1807, a suspicious enterprise, projected by colonel 
Burr, excited the publick attention. By his intrigues against 
Mr. Jefferson, he had lost the confidence of the republican 
party, while the murder of general Hamilton, lost him the 
confidence of the federalists. Thus circumstanced, he had 
retired to the western states as a private citizen. Here he 
collected and armed a great number of men, whose ostensi- 
ble object was to form a settlement in Louisana. But go- 
vernment having reason to suspect the designs of Burr, in- 
stituted prosecutions against him in Tennessee, Kentucky, 
and in the territory of Mississippi ; but not obtaining suffi- 
cient proof for conviction, he was discharged. At length, as 
his plans became more developed, he was arrested on the 
Tombigbee river, and in February, 1807, sent prisoner to 
Richmond, Virginia, and in August following put upon his 
trial before judge Marshall, chief justice of the United 
States. 

9. The two charges upon which he was tried were, first, 
a misdemeanor, in setting on foot an expedition against the 
king of Spain, with whom the United States were at peace ; 
second^ treason against the United States. But full evidence 
of his guilt not being found, he was acquitted. Still the 
people of the union believed him guilty, and in conse- 
quence treated him with marked neglect and contempt, till he 
was reduced to abject wretchedness. By these events, the 
strength and decision of the government was fully tested, 
otn<J it was proved worthy the confidence of the people. I* 

^niay be added, that many persons were ruined, both in regard 
4,0 property and character, by their adherence to Burr, 



AMERICAN HISTORY, 255 

10. In June, 1807, the British ship of war the Leopard, 
committed an outrage upon the Chesapeake, a United States r 
frigate, and produced a general sentiment of indignation 
throughout the country. The Chesapeake had been ordered 
on a cruise in the Mediterranean, and sailed from Hampton 
Roads on the 22d of June. Soon after she had left the 
coast, an officer from the Leopard came on board and de- 
manded three men, who had deserted from the Melampus 
frigate. Commodore Barron refused to deliver them up, and 
the Leopard immediately commenced a fire upon the Chesa- 
peake, by which three of her men were killed, and eighteen 
wounded. Being wholly unprepared for action, the Ameri- 
can frigate struck her colours, and was then boarded by an 
officer from the Leopard, who took four men, claiming them 
as British subjects, and as deserters. On a subsequent in- 
vestigation it was found that three of them were American 
citizens, and had been impressed into that service, from 
which they had deserted. 

11. As a manifestation of the resentment inspired by this 
insult, the president issued a proclamation, ordering all Bri- 
tish armed vessels immediately to leave the waters of the 
United States, and sent instructions to Mr. Monroe, minister 
at the court of St. James, to demand reparation for the inju- 
ry. Congress were also summoned, in order to deliberate 
what further measures should be taken. The British go- 
vernment readily disavowed the act of its officer ; but as it 
delayed rendering satisfaction for the injury, and continued 
its acts of aggression, the indignation of the publick was no( 
appeased. Mr. Rose was at length sent to the United States 
by the court of Great Britain, to adjust the difficulties re- 
specting the Chesapeake, and after a protracted negotiation* 
proposals of satisfaction were made and accepted. 

12. In 1809, Mr. Jefferson's second term of service hav- 
ing expired, James Madison was elected president, and 
George Clinton re-elected vice-president. As from the at- 
titude assumed by the two great belligerant powers, France 
and England, American vessels and seamen were exposed to 
imminent peril, congress, on the recommendation of the pre- 
sident, passed a law laying an embargo for an indefinite period. 
At this period, by the decrees of France and England, mu- 
tually formed to do mutual injury, almost every American 
vessel, or of anv other neutral nation, was exposed to confls 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 

cation. In the New-England states, the embargo caused 
great discontents and clamours, and the measure was repro- 
bated as oppressive and ill-timed. 

13. In March, 1809, the embargo was repealed, and the 
non-intercourse law substituted in its place. This law was 
to be in force one year, and provided, that if either of the bel- 
ligerant nations should revoke her edicts, so hostile to Ame- 
rican commerce, then the president should revoke, by procla- 
mation, the non-intercourse, so far as regarded that nation. 
In April, Mr. Erskine, who had succeeded Mr. Rose, an- 
nounced that after the 10th of June, his government would 
repeal the orders in council, so far as they affected the United 
States. Upon this assurance, the president immediately is- 
sued the proclamation directed by the law. The British 
ministry refused to ratify this engagement of Mr. Erskine. 
and he was recalled. Mr. Jackson was sent to Washington 
in the place of Mr. Erskine ; but his treatment of the Ame- 
rican government was so indecorous, that he was told no 
further communications with him would be held. 

14. In May, 1810, a proposition was made to both belli- 
gerants, that if either would rescind its hostile decrees, the 
non-intercourse law should be enforced against the other. In 
August, Bonaparte assured Mr. Armstrong, the American 
minister, that the Berlin and Milan decrees were revoked, 
and that the revocation would take effect on the first day of 
November. Confiding in this information, the president is- 
sued a proclamation on the 2d of November, permitting un- 
restrained commerce with France, and prohibiting any inter- 
course with England and her dependancies. Great Britain 
had promised to revoke her orders in council, so soon as she 
might have evidence that the Berlin and Milan decrees were 
rescinded. That evidence was now exhibited, but the or- 
ders in council were still enforced, and greater insults heaped 
upon the American flag. 

15. About this time, a rencounter took place off the coast 
of Virginia, between the American frigate President, and the 
British sloop of war Little Belt. The former had hailed the 
latter, and instead of an answer received a shot, which struck 
me mast. The President then fired a broadside, and the 
Little Belt was soon disabled, and thirty of her men killed or 
WounddA— rThe Indians on the western frontier, having for 
-1rH^^trm^ 1 shdwri 7 §^^WrnQ fef lid&ilfry, thinking thev had 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 257 

now a favourable opportunity, in the fall of 1811, collected 
in considerable numbers on the Wabash, with the noted Te- 
cumseh, a Shawnese chief, and his brother, who styled himself 
a prophet, at their head, and commenced their depredations* 

16. Governour Harrison, of Indiana territory, was order- 
ed to march against them. At Tippecanoe, their principal 
village, he was met by Indian messengers, who proposed to 
the governour a suspension of hostilities till the next day, and 
an interview with the chiefs. This was agreed upon, but the 
governour, warned by the fate of Harmer and St. Clair, 
formed his men in order of battle, and ordered them to repose 
upon their arms. Nor were these precautions useless; for 
just before the dawn of day, the savages rushed to the attack. 
The troops stood their ground, and after a severe and bloody 
engagement, the Indians fled. The whites lost one hundred 
and eighty in killed and wounded ; the Indians had one hun« 
dred and seventy killed, and one hundred wounded. Strong 
suspicions existed at that time, that the savages were excited 
to hostility by British agents who resided among them. The 
English stiO continued their aggressions upon American com- 
merce, and many vessels richly laden, bound to French ports, 
were captured. Not less than nine hundred, since the year 
1803, had thus fallen into their hands. 

17. At the meeting of congress in November, the presi- 
dent recommended that the United States should be placed 
in an attitude of defence. A law was accordingly passed, au- 
thorizing the increase of the regular army of the union to 
thirty-five thousand men, and for increasing the navy. The 
president was authorized to borrow eleven millions of dollars, 
and the duties on imported goods were doubled, and nearly all 
descriptions of property, as well as of domestick manufac- 
ture, were taxed. On the 25th of February, 1812, the pre- 
sident laid before congress certain documents, which proved 
that in 1809, the British government had sent an agent into 
the United States, to endeavour to effect a dismemberment 
of the union. The agent, John Henry, proceeded through 
Vermont and New Hampshire, to Boston ; but not being 
able to effect any thing, returned. Subsequently the British 
government refused to reward him for his services, and in re- 
taliation, he revealed the whole matter to the president, who 
paid him, by the order of congress, fifty thousand dollars for 
his disclosures, 



258 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

18. June 18th, 1812, the president issued his proclama- 
tion, declaring war against England. In the April preceding, 
congress laid an embargo for ninety days, on all vessels with- 
in the jurisdiction of the United States, in the hope that the 
British cabinet, by a change of policy, might render war un- 
necessary. The reasons assigned by the president for a de- 
claration of war were, " the impressment of American sea* 
men; the blockade of her enemies' ports, unsupported by an 
adequate force ; and the British orders in council. " A small mi- 
nority in congress protested against the declaration of war. 

19. General Henry Dearborn was appointed commander- 
in-chief of the American army, and his head-quarters were 
fixed at Greenbush, on the Hudson river, near Albany. At 
the commencement of the war, the Americans possessed 
three military posts in the territory of Michigan ; Michili- 
mackinack, Chicago, and Detroit. The British also possess- 
ed two posts in that region, at Amherstburg and St. Jo- 
sephs ; and the garrisons at these two stations, were nearly 
equal in number of men, to the garrisons of the three Ame- 
rican forts. Governour Hull, who commanded in Michigan, 
informed government a year before the declaration of war, 
of the necessity of sending an adequate military force into 
that territory ; but from misunderstanding, no such force was 
sent, and at the declaration of war, the whole effective army 
of Hull did not amount to more than twelve or thirteen hun- 
dred men. 

20. About the middle of June, general Hull received or- 
ders to set out on his march from Dayton, Ohio, where the 
troops had rendezvoused, to Detroit, and about the 30th of 
that month, he had proceeded as far as the rapids of Maumee. 
General Hull had been ordered to be in readiness to march 
to the attack of the British posts as soon as war should 
be declared ; but by some accident, intelligence of the decla- 
ration of war did not reach him till the 2d of July, three days 
after the British in Canada had received the information. 
By this means they were able to capture a vessel laden with 
the baggage of the army, which Hull had sent to Detroit. 
On board this vessel was a trunk of publick papers, and the 
enemy thus became acquainted with the designs and orders of 
government, as well as the number and condition of the army. 

21 . On the 5th of July, Hull and his army reached Detroit, 
There he permitted them to halt for a few days for the pnr- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 258 

pose of refreshment, and making preparations for invading 
Canada. On the 9th he received a letter from Mr. Eustis, 
secretary at war, directing him to commence hostile operations 
immediately, and if he should think his force sufficient for the 
purpose, to proceed and attack fort Maiden. Hull, in reply j 
stated to the secretary that he did not think his force sufficient 
for the reduction of Maiden, yet that he intended to cross the 
river in a few days. On the 12th of July, he crossed into 
Canada, and took post at Sandwich, where he issued a proc- 
lamation, inviting the inhabitants either quietly to remain at 
home, or join the American cause, and promising them pro- 
tection in their property, person, and rights. " Had I," said 
he, " any doubt of ultimate success, I should ask your aid ; 
but I come prepared for every contingence. I have a force 
which will break down all opposition, and that force is but the 
van-guard of a much greater." 

22. On the 8th of August, captain Van Horn, who had 
been sent with a re-enforcement to captain Brush at the river 
Raisin, was ambuscaded at Brownstown, by the British and 
Indians, and defeated. On the first of August, general Hull 
received intelligence that the fort at Mackinaw had fallen into 
the hands of the British. Lieutenant Hawks, who command- 
ed the post, had not been informed of the declaration of war ; 
when on the 17th of July, a force of one thousand and twen- 
ty-four men appeared and demanded a surrender of the garri- 
son. As he had only fifty-seven men, and the fort was hardly 
defensible, a compliance with the demand was unanimously 
advised by the officers. The loss of this fort removed the 
only barrier between Detroit and the hordes of savages with 
which the northwestern regions of the country were filled. 

23. A partial armistice which was agreed upon between 
general Dearborn and Sir George Provost, governour of Ca- 
nada, was to go into operation early in August. The British 
government had at length repealed the orders in council, and 
Provost professed to believe, that information of this fact 
might dispose the government of the United States to consent 
to close the war. General Hull and his army were not in- 
cluded in the armistice, and it was agreed that if the presi- 
dent should disapprove of it, hostilities should again com- 
mence after four days notice. Subsequent events appear to 
warrant the opinion, that the armistice was only a military 
stratagem, designed by Provost to enable him to concentrate 



260 AMERICAN HISTORY, 

his forces against Hull, and prevent any diversion in his 
vour by Dearborn. If this was the design, it was completely 
suscessful. 

24. The president disapproved of the armistice, but the 
length of time necessary to send despatches to and from 
Washington, together with the stipulated four days notice, 
previous to a recommencing hostilities, was amply sufficient 
to effect the designs of the British commander. Hull had no 
notice of the armistice, but he felt the full effect of the strata- 
gem. The British concentrated their force, and Hull found 
it necessary in his own opinion to abandon the attack on Mai- 
den, for which he had made every preparation, and given the 
order ; and on the 8th of August he and his army returned to 
Detroit. On the 9th, colonel Miller, who had been detached 
with six hundred men to open a communication to the river 
Raisin, met a body of the enemy at Maguaga, near Browns- 
town, and after a severe conflict, compelled them to retire. 
Tecumseh particularly distinguished himself in this engage- 
ment. The Americans lost in killed and wounded about 
eighty men. 

25. On the 15th, captain Heald, commander of the fort 
at Chicago, while on his way to Detroit with the garrison, 
amounting to about seventy Americans and fifty Indians, fell 
into an ambush, and was compelled to surrender. Hull now 
proposed to his officers the removal of the army to some place 
near the rapids of Miami. But the officers disapproved the 
design, and the Ohio militia threatened to desert if he attempt- 
ed to carry it into effect. General Brock, the most active 
and experienced commander of the British in Canada, about 
this time arrived in the camp and assumed the command of 
the British army. A little previous to liis arrival, colonel 
Proctor, commander at Maiden, took a position opposite 
Detroit, and fortified the bank of the river without any inter- 
ruption from the American general. 

26. On the 15th, general Brock sent a flag to general Hull, 
summoning him to surrender. In his note on this occasion, 
general Brock said, " It is far from my intention to join in a 
w^r of extermination, but you must be aware that the nume- 
rous body of Indians who have attached themselves to my 
troops, will be beyond my control the moment the contest 
commences." General Hull's answer was, " I have no other 
"oply to make, than that I am prepared to meet any force which 



AMERICAN HISTORY, . 261 

may be at your disposal." The British commander immedi- 
ately opened his batteries upon the fort and town, and the 
Americans returned the fire with considerable effect. Ge- 
neral Hull greatly terrified, sent an express to colonels M< 
Arthur and (Jass, who had been detached toward the river Rai- 
sin to meet captain Brush, directing them to return without 
delay. 

27. General Hull surrendered on the 16th of August. On 
the morning of that day, the British landed at Spring Wells, 
three miles below Detroit, and immediately commenced their 
march toward the fort. Hull was perplexed and undecided 
in regard to the course to be taken. At first he drew up his 
army without the fort, and planted his artillery, and his offi- 
cers and men were confident of obtaining the victory. But 
when the British had arrived within five hundred yards of the 
American lines, Hull sent a peremptory order for his army to 
retire into the fort. On the receipt of this command, a gene- 
ral burst of indignation was heard from both officers and men, 
and all subordination was entirely at an end. The army 
crowded into the fort, and immediately stacked their arms 
without any command. Many of the soldiers were seen to 
weep, and even the very women were indignant, and declared 
that the fort should not be surrendered. Hull now displayed 
a flag of truce, and the capitulation was speedily signed. 

28. Colonels Cass and M'Arthur, and Captain Brush; 
with the detachments of troops under their respective com- 
mand, were, at the express desire of general Hull, included in 
the capitulation. The two former arrived immediately after 
the articles were signed, and according to the terms of the 
surrender became prisoners. Captain Brush, disregarding 
the capitulation, marched his detachment back to Ohio. Ge- 
neral Hull's force at Detroit was eight hundred effective men ; 
that of the British was stated by general Brock to have been 
thirteen hundred men, seven hundred of whom were Indians. 

29. General Hull was arrested after he was exchanged, 
tried by a court martial, and condemned to suffer death. The 
charge against him of treason was not supported, but he was 
found guilty of cowardice and unofficer-like conduct. He 
was not, however, imprisoned, but sent without a guard from 
Albany, where the court had assembled for his trial,>tp the vi- 
cinity of Boston, where he awaited the decision of the presi- 
dent of the United States, to whose mercy the court had re- 

23 



262 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

commended him, in consequence of his services in the war 
the revolution. The president approved the sentence of th< 
court martial, but remitted its execution, depriving Hull of al 
military command. 

QUESTIONS. 
1 . When was war commenced between the United States and Tripoli 
—2. What took place in Oct.?-3. What in 1803?— 4. What on tin 
Sth May ?— 5. What in July, 1804 ?— 6. What on the 4th March, 1805 
— 7. In regard to what subjects did the United States and England 
profess difference of sentiment? — 8. What excited publick attention 
in 1807 ? — 9. Name the two charges upon which Burr was tried ? — 10. 
What took place in June, 1807 ? — 11. What was done to manifest re- 
sentment for this insult? — 12. Who were elected president and vice- 
president in 1809?— 13. What occurred in March, 18G9?— 14. What 
proposition was made in 1810 ? — 15. What occurred about this time ? 
—16. Who marched against the Indians ? — 17. What did the presi- 
dent recommend at the meeting of congress in November ? — 18. What 
took place June 18th, 1812? — 19. Who was appointed commander-in- 
chief of the American army? — 20. What orders were transmitted to 
Gen. Hull about this time ? — 21. What occurred on the 5th July ?— 22. 
What on the 8th Aug.?— 23. What was to take effect early in Aug. ? — 
24. What did the president do ? — 25. What occurred on the 16th Aug. ? 
—26. What did Gen. Brock do on the 15th ?— 27. When did Hull sur- 
render? — 28. Who were included in the capitulation? — 29. What be- 
came of Hull after he was exchanged ? 

SECTION XIII. 

WAR WITH ENGLAND CONTINUED. WAR WITH THE CREEKS. 

1. On the 19th of August, 1812, the British frigate Guer- 
riere, commanded by captain Dacres, was captured by the 
American frigate Constitution, commanded by captain Hull, 
after an action of thirty minutes. Captain Dacres, a short 
time previous to the rencounter, challenged any American 
frigate of the class of the Guerriere, to a meeting. On the 
approach of the British frigate, captain Hull directed that 
her fire should be received without returning it, and the crew 
calmly obeyed the order. As soon as the enemy was suffi- 
ciently near, and his own position favourable, Hull gave or- 
ders to fire one broadside after another in quick succession, 
which was done with such precision, that in a short time 
the Guerriere had all her masts and rigging shot away, and 
her hull so much injured as to be in danger of sinking. The 1 
British had sixty-five killed and sixty-three wounded. TV 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 263 

Constitution was but little injured. Seven of her men were 
killed and seven wounded. 

2. Soon after, the United States frigate Essex, captain 
Porter, captured the British sloop of war, the Alert, after an 
action of eight minutes. These successes healed in some 
measure the wounded pride of the American people — wound- 
ed by Hull's disgraceful surrender — and reanimated their 
sinking spirits. On the frontier of New-York, the military 
operations were under the direction of general Dearborn, 
and Greenbush was still his head quarters. At Plattsburgh, 
brigadier-general Bloomfield was stationed, and general 
Smyth at Buffalo. On the Niagara frontier, a portion of the 
New- York militia, amounting to five thousand men, under 
the command of general Yan Rensselaer, had taken post. 
Considerable bodies of regulars and militia were also sta- 
tioned at Ogdensburg, Sacketts Harbour, and Black Rock. 
In this manner the frontier was so carefully guarded, that the 
British seldom found an opportunity to commit any depreda- 
tions. 

3. On the 13th of October, an attack was made upon the 
British post at Queenston, on the opposite side of the river 
from Lewiston. An attempt to cross had been made on the 
1 1th, but owing to unfavourable weather, had failed. On the 
12th, colonel Christie arrived at the American camp^ with a 
body of three hundred regulars, and the design was renewed. 
Colonel Solomon Yan Rensselaer was appointed to com- 
mand the militia, and colonel Christie the regulars. The 
two divisions landed on the Canada shore about the dawn of 
day, and were immediately formed by colonel Yan Rensse* 
laer, in order to storm the heights of Queenston. While 
waiting for orders to ascend the heights, the troops were at- 
tacked by the British, and colonel Yan Rensselaer was dan- 
gerously wounded. Colonel Christie not having crossed 
with the regulars, the command now devolved on captain 
Wool, the senior officer. Though he was also severely 
wounded, yet he led the troops against the batteries on the 
heights, and gaining an eminence which commanded them, 
the enemy soon retired^ leaving the post in the hands of the 
Americans. 

4. At this instant, general Brock arrived from fort George 
with a re-enforcement of British troops. A furious charge 
ensued, in which Brock was at first victorious ; but receive 



201 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

ing a mortal wound, his men fled in disorder. The Ameri^ 
cans now considered the day as their own, but they soon dis- 
covered general SheafFe approaching, with a body of one 
thousand British and Indians. General Van Rensselaer 
then recrossed the Niagara, to expedite the passage of the 
militia, who lay inactive on the American shore. But they 
now wholly refused to leave the territories of the United 
States, alleging that it was unconstitutional to require them 
to make offensive war. Thus abandoned by their brethren 
in arms, the troops already on the Canadian shore, after a 
brave resistance, were overpowered and obliged to surrender. 
Sixty Americans were killed, one hundred wounded, and se- 
ven hundred taken prisoners. 

5. In September, William Henry Harrison, governour of 
Indiana territory, was appointed to the command of the north 
western army. At this time, Harrison was at the river St. 
Marys, with the main division, consisting of three thousand 
men. General Winchester, with the other division of two 
thousand men, was posted at fort Defiance. They were in 
want of provisions, and having sent to Harrison for relief, 
that officer marched with a considerable part of his forces, 
and on the 3d of October joined general Winchester. The 
next day he returned to St. Marys, having detached general 
Tupper with one thousand of the Ohio militia, to proceed to 
the rapids of the Miami, to dislodge the enemy. In this he 
failed, and the British still retained possession. On the 4th 
of September, several hundred Indians attacked fort Harri- 
son on the Wabash. Captain Taylor, who commanded the 
fort, with but fifty men, fifteen of whom only were effective, 
repelled the assailants, killing a considerable number of them, 
while he lost but three of the garrison. Soon after, the In- 
dians, in revenge for their defeat, attacked and massacred 
an entire settlement at the mouth of White river, consisting 
of twenty-one persons. 

6. On the 12th of November, general Alexander Smyth, 
who had succeeded general Van Rensselaer in the command 
of the centre army, issued an address to the men of New- 
York, inviting them to join his standard, which he assured 
them he would in a few days plant in Canada. A considera- 
ble number obeyed the call, probably more from confidence 
in general Porter, who commanded the volunteers, than from 
the effect of Smyth's appeal. On the 30th of November, 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 265 

the preparations for invading Canada having been completed, 
orders were issued for the troops to be in readiness to embark 
the next morning. But not having boats enough to embark 
three thousand men at once, and having reason to fear that 
should those who had crossed be in danger, the remainder 
would not venture over, Smyth ordered the troops to disem- 
bark, and gave up the design. The regulars were ordered 
into winter quarters, and the volunteers to return home. 
The troops were indignant, and a scene of riot and disorder 
ensued. 

7. On the 18th of October, the American sloop of war 
Wasp, captain Jones, captured the British sloop of war 
Frolick, commanded by captain Whinyates, off the island of 
Bermuda. The last broadside of the Wasp was fired when 
the two vessels were so near that her rammers, while loading, 
were shoved against the sides of the Frolick. Captain Jones 
then boarded her, but found only four men alive on the deck. 
The whole crew of the Frolick, which at the commencement 
of the action consisted of one hundred and twenty men, 
were either killed or wounded, except twenty. The Ameri- 
cans had five killed and five wounded. Two hours after the 
battle, the Poictiers, a British 74, appeared, and took the 
Wasp and her prize, and carried them into Bermuda. On 
the return of captain Jones and his crew to the United States, 
they were received with the most distinguished honours. 
The crew received twenty thousand dollars, and captain 
Jones was promoted to the command of the frigate Mace- 
donian, which was soon after captured from the British. 

8. On the 25th of October, the frigate United States, 
commodore Decatur, fell in with and captured the British fri- 
gate Macedonian, captain Garden. The action took place in 
the 29th degree of north latitude, and 29° 30' west longitude. 
The Macedonian being to windward, was enabled to choose 
her own distance, which was so great for the first half hour, 
that the carronades of the American frigate were useless. 
But as soon as a close action commenced, the well-directed 
and rapid fire of the United States, soon rendered her anta- 
gonist an " unmanageable log," and the British captain found 
it necessary to surrender. When Decatur went on board the 
Macedonian, captain Carden presented him his sword. De- 
catur refused, and instead of the sword, grasped the hand of 
his opponent, and expressed admiration of his bravery. On 



? 



2G6 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

board of the United States, only twelve were lolled an 
wounded. The British loss was one hundred and four. 

9. On the 29th of December, the American frigate Con 
stitution, commanded by commodore Bainbridge, captured 
the Java, a British frigate, captain Lambert commander. 
The action continued two hours. The British had nailed 
their colours to the mast, but at length they were forced to 
strike them. The British lost in killed, sixty, and in wound- 
ed one hundred and one. The Constitution had nineteen 
killed and twenty-five wounded. During the year 1812, the 
Americans captured from the British two hundred and fifty 
ships, and took three thousand prisoners. The commerce of 
England was almost driven from the ocean, while but few of 
4he American vessels fell into the hands of their enemies. 

10. On the 4th of March, 1813, Mr. Madison was re-elected 
president, and Elbridge Gerry chosen vice-president of the 
United States. The plan of the campaign for this year, 
embraced the whole western frontier. General Harrison, 
with his army, was stationed near the head of lake Erie ; 
general Dearborn was posted between lakes Ontario and 
Erie ; while general Hampton occupied the shore cf lake 
Champlain. The conquest of Canada was still the object of 
the American government, and Sir George Provost had but a 
small force to defend the provinces from invasion. Colonels 
Proctor and Vincent were entrusted with the defence of Up- 
per Canada, while general Sheaffe was appointed to com- 
mand the troops of the lower province. Early in February, 
major Forsyth, who commanded some American troops sta- 
tioned at Ogdensburg, crossed the St. Lawrence with a party 
of riflemen and some volunteers, and surprised the British 
guard at Elizabethtown, and took fifty-two prisoners, and a 
quantity of arms and ammunition. 

11. The massacre at Frenchtown commenced about this 
time. The head quarters of general Harrison were at this 
time at Franklinton, in Ohio. General Winchester had 
gone in advance of the main army, and hearing that a party 
of the enemy were stationed at Frenchtown, he attacked and 
dispersed them. On the morning of the 22d of January, 
while part of his army was encamped in the open field, and 
a part behind a breastwork, Winchester was surprised by a 
combined force of British and Indians, under the command 
of colonel Proctor. Those of the Americans who were sta- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 267 

tioned in the open field were soon thrown into disorder. Ma- 
ny of them were killed by the Indians, and general Winches- 
ter and colonel Lewis were made prisoners. After his cap- 
ture, Winchester seeing resistance to be useless, sent his 
troops orders to surrender, confiding in the assurance of 
Proctor, that they should be protected from the Indians. Af- 
ter the surrender, Proctor marched for Maiden, leaving the 
wounded prisoners without a guard. The Indians soon re- 
turned, set fire to the town, massacred the wounded, and left 
their mangled bodies in the highway. In this affair the Ame- 
ricans lost five hundred in killed and wounded, and the same 
number taken prisoners. 

12. On the 1st of May, general Proctor with a force of 
one thousand regulars, and twelve hundred Indians, besieged 
general Harrison in fort Meigs, at the rapids of Miami. The 
Americans resisted all the efforts of the assailants, and on the 
5th, general Clay, with twelve hundred volunteers from Ken- 
tucky, came to the relief of Harrison. A sortie was made 
from the fort in conjunction with the troops under Clay ? 
and the British were defeated. Proctor raised the siege 
and returned to Maiden. The Six Nations in July took up 
arms on the side of the United States. The American go- 
vernment had declined accepting the services of the Indians, 
but it was now found that if they were not accepted, they 
would join the enemy ; and as the British had not scrupled to 
employ the savages, the president felt justified in pursuing a 
similar course. 

13. Fort Stephenson, on the Sandusky, was next besieged 
by general Proctor. On the 2d of August the fort was in- 
vested, and a surrender demanded. Major Croghan, a young 
man of twenty-one, who commanded the garrison, which 
consisted of one hundred and sixty men, took the resolution 
of defending the fort, and answered Proctor's demand with a 
firm defiance. The contest commenced with great fury on 
the part of the assailants, but the judicious measures of Cro- 
ghan, and the cool courage of his brave associates, completely 
foiled the enemy, and Proctor was obliged to retire with the 
loss of a hundred and fifty men. The Americans lost but 
one killed, and seven wounded. On the 8th of October* 
1812, captain Elliot with a hundred men crossed the Niaga- 
ra, at Black Rock, and took two British vessels from under 
the guns of fort Erie. One of these was burned, and the 



268 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

other, called the Caledonia, was added to the American squad- 
ron on lake Erie. 

14. York, the capital of Upper Canada, surrendered to the 
Americans under general Pike. On the 27th of April, 1813, 
Pike embarked from Sackets Harbour with one thousand se- 
ven hundred men. The force of the enemy consisted of 
seven hundred regulars and militia, and one hundred Indians, 
under general Sheaffe. The Americans formed at the place 
of debarkation, nearly a mile and a half from the British fort, 
and were warmly received by the enemy. After a contest oi 
an hour and a half, Sheaffe retired to the fort, to which he was 
followed by the invading forces, advancing in solid columns. 
When within sixty yards of the enemies main works, a maga- 
zine exploded, and scattering huge stones and fragments of 
wood in every direction, made dreadful havock among the 
troops. One hundred of the Americans, and forty of the 
British were killed by the explosion. General Pike was mor- 
tally wounded. A large quantity of stores was captured, to- 
gether with all general ShearTe's baggage and papers. In the 
executive chamber of the capital, the Americans found a hu- 
man scalp, occupying the same situation as the mace and oth- 
er emblems of royal authority. 

15. Fort George and foil Erie were captured by the Ame- 
ricans in May. General Dearborn commanded in person, 
while commodore Chauncey, with his squadron on lake On- 
tario, made the most judicious arrangements for silencing 
those of the enemies batteries which were near the place of 
disembarkation. Col. Vincent, the British commander, see- 
ing that fort George was no longer tenable, blew up the mag- 
azine, spiked the cannon, and abandoned the place. The 
loss of the British amounted to three hundred men ; that oi 
the Americans was seventeen killed and forty-five wounded. 
While these events were transpiring at Niagara, Sir George 
Provost and commodore Yeo embarked at Kingston, on the 
very day that fort George was assaulted, and on the next ap- 
peared before Sacketts Harbour, where they landed twelve 
hundred men. General Brown, who commanded at that 
post, immediately rallied the militia, and Sir George was 
compelled to abandon the project and return to Canada. 

16. Soon after the attack on Sacketts Harbour, an action 
occurred at Burlington Heights, between the British troops 
under colonel Vincent, and the Americans under generals 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 269 

Chandler and Winder. At the dead of night, Vincent stole 
in silence upon the Americans, drove in the pickets, and with 
the roar of artillery and the yells of the Indians, rushed into 
the camp. A scene of carnage ensued, and the darkness 
was so great that neither party could distinguish friend 
from enemy. General Chandler was taken prisoner by a 
party of British troops, whom in the darkness and confusion 
he had approached, supposing them to be Americans ; general 
Winder shared the same fate. The British, however, were 
forced to retire with considerable loss, while that of the Amer- 
icans was probably two or three hunered, in killed, wounded, 
and prisoners. Colonel Burns, upon whom the command of 
the American troops now devolved, finding himself unable 
from the want of ammunition to maintain his position, retired 
from Stony Creek, the place of the action, to Forty Mile 
Creek, where the detachment was previously posted. On 
the 22d of June, another action occurred at Beaver Dams, in 
which the Americans under colonel Bcerstler were defeated* 
and the whole party, amounting to five hundred men, were 
obliged to surrender. 

17. On the 10th of September, the American fleet on 
lake Erie, under the command of commodore Perry, after a 
severe action of four hours, captured the whole British squad- 
ron on that lake, under the command of commodore Barclay. 
The two fleets were about of equal force, but the British 
commander was a veteran and experienced officer, while 
Perry was young and inexperienced. The Americans com- 
menced the action about 12 o'clock, and it soon became 
general. The Lawrence, Perry's flag ship, being reduced to 
a mere wreck, he left it in an open boat, and amid a shower 
of bullets, removed his flag on board the Niagara, and the 
action was renewed with greater severity. At four o'clock 
the whole British squadron, consisting of six vessels, and 
carrying in all sixty-three guns, surrendered to the Ameri- 
cans. The capture of the enemy's fleet, opened a passage 
to the territory of Michigan, and general Harrison immedi- 
ately carried the war thither ; and on the 29th of September 
entered Detroit, which had been previously evacuated by 
Proctor, after having destroyed all the publick property and 
the fort. 

18. General Harrison after taking possession of Detroit, 
immediately set off in pursuit of Proctor, and overtook him 



270 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

at a Moravian village on the Thames, about eighty miles from 
Detroit. The British army consisted of about two thousand 
men, while that of the Americans was something greater in 
numbers. To counterbalance his inferiority of troops, the 
British general had the advantage of choosing his ground. 
His left wing accordingly rested on the Thames, and was de- 
fended by artillery ; his right extended to a swamp running 
parallel with the river, and was supported by Tecumseh and 
lus warriours, strongly posted in a thick wood. Harrison or- 
dered colonel Johnson's mounted regiment of Kentucky vol- 
unteers, to charge the enemy's centre, with the intention of 
getting into their rear. But failing in this, Johnson wheeled 
to the right and left upon the enemy's flanks, and poured in 
a destructive fire. In the heat of the action, colonel Johnson, 
who had received five musket shots in his body, and had his 
horse shot under him, encountered Tecumseh, who was also 
wounded. The savage raised his tomahawk, but before he 
could strike, Johnson drew a pistol and laid him dead at his 
feet. 

19. In this action nineteen of the British regulars were 
killed, fifty were wounded, and six hundred made prisoners. 
Of the Indians, one hundred and twenty were left on the field 
of battle. The loss of the Americans in killed and wounded, 
was upward of fifty. All the British artillery fell into the hands 
of the victors ; among which, there were two brass field pieces, 
bearing the inscription, " surrendered by Burgoyne, at Sara- 
toga." These had fallen into the hands of the British at the 
surrender of Hull. Soon after the action, the Ottowas, 
Chippewas, Miamis, and Potowattamies sent deputations to 
general Harrison, and entered into treaties of alliance with 
the United States, and took up arms against the British, their 
recent allies. Proctor after the fall of Tecumseh, seeing 
that all was lost, took with him two hundred dragoons and 
fled from the field ; and although Harrison immediately or- 
dered a vigorous pursuit, he succeeded in making lus escape. 

20. In the early part of this year, the British declared the 
Chesapeake and Delaware bays in a state of blockade, and 
stationed admiral Warren on the coast to enforce it. Admi- 
ral Beresford was sent up the Delaware, and on the 10th of 
April he appeared before Lewistown and demanded provisions. 
The inhabitants refused, and an attack was commenced upon 
the village. But after a bombardment of several days, the 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 271 

British retired, and the squadron sailed for Bermuda. In the 
mean time another fleet was carrying on a disgraceful and 
savage warfare in the Chesapeake. The commander took 
possession of several small islands in the bay, from whence 
they made descents upon the neighbouring coasts, pillaging 
the inhabitants and committing excesses unworthy of Goths 
or Vandals. They took possession of Frenchtown and 
Havre de Grace, and what property they could not carry away, 
they destroyed. They then proceeded into the adjacent coun- 
try, marking their route with devastation and ruin. Publick 
and private dwellings fell a sacrifice to their rapacity, and 
neither age nor sex escaped their disgraceful outrages. On 
the 16th of May, satiate with plunder, they returned onboard 
their fleet. 

21. Soon after leaving the Delaware, admiral Warren ap- 
peared in the Chesapeake, having re-enforced his fleet, and 
having on board two thousand troops, under the command of 
Sir Sydney Beckwith. On receiving intelligence of the arri- 
val of this force, the Americans made preparations for de- 
fence. A frigate was stationed at the mouth of Elizabeth 
river, and ten thousand of the Virginia militia were called in- 
to service. On the 22d of June, Craney's Island was at- 
tacked by four thousand British troops, while at the same 
time another party attempted to land on the main shore. But 
meeting with a vigorous resistance, they were compelled to 
relinquish both attempts and betake themselves in confusion 
to their ships. On the 25th of June, Sir S. Beckwith with 
two thousand five hundred men, made an attempt upon 
the village of Hampton, but was repulsed. In a few days 
the attempt was renewed with better success. Here again 
the troops were guilty of barbarities of which the savages 
would have been ashamed. About this time the harbours of 
New- York and New-London were closely blockaded by the 
British fleet under commodore Hardy. 

22. On the 5th of October, commodore Chauncey, com- 
mander of the American squadron on lake Ontario, captured 
a British fleet of five sail, laden with troops and provisions. 
General Wilkinson, who had command of the army on the 
Mississippi, was now appointed to command the army of the 
centre, and on the 20th of August he arrived at Sacketts Har- 
bour. The chief object to which his attention was directed 
by his instructions, was the reduction of Montreal, and the 



272 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

conquest of Canada. To effect this object, dependance was 
placed upon an army of four thousand men, stationed at fort 
George ; another of two thousand under general Lewis, at 
Sacketts Harbour, and the troops under Harrison, who were 
expected to join general Wilkinson, and with him proceed 
down the St. Lawrence. General Hampton, who command- 
ed the northern army, was directed to penetrate Canada by 
the way of Champlain, and at some convenient place form a 
junction with Wilkinson. 

23. To facilitate the operations, general Armstrong, se- 
cretary of war, proceeded to Sacketts Harbour, where he ar- 
rived on the 5th of September. Wilkinson waited on him for 
orders, and received directions to proceed immediately to 
Montreal, without waiting to attack Kingston, according to 
former instructions, and Grenadier Island, near the outlet of 
lake Ontario, was fixed upon as the place of rendezvous. On 
the 30th of October, the several bodies of troops having ar- 
rived, they set sail, and on the sixth of November they had 
proceeded within a few miles of Prescott. The stores and 
troops were landed on the Canadian shore, in order to proceed 
by land that they might avoid the fire of the British batteries. 
The flotilla under general Brown, on passing the fortress, 
sustained a heavy fire, without however receiving much 
injury. 

24. On the 11th, a force of two thousand British regulars 
which had followed the Americans from Kingston, attacked 
them at Williamsburg, and after an action of three hours, 
compelled them to retire from the field. In this engagement 
the British loss was one hundred and eighty, while that of the 
Americans amounted to three hundred and thirty-nine. The 
next day after the action, despatches were received from ge- 
neral Hampton, in which he declined a junction with Wilkin- 
son, alledging that his stock of provisions was not sufficient 
for both armies, and intimating that he would join him lower 
down the river. Upon receiving these despatches Wilkinson 
called a council of war, by which it was decided to abandon 
the design of attacking Montreal, and to go into winter quar- 
ters at French Mills. General Hampton, who had advanced 
toward Montreal as far as Ormstown, hearing that the object 
of the campaign was abandoned, returned to Plattsburg, and 
took up his winter quarters. He soon after resigned his com- 
mission, and was succeeded by general Izard. 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 273 

25. On the 10th of December, the Canadian village of 
Newark was burned by the orders of general M'Clure, who 
commanded on the Niagara frontier. On the 19th, by way 
of retaliation, although the American government had disa- 
vowed the act of M'Clure, the British sent over four hun- 
dred troops under colonel Murray, and surprising the sentries 
at fort Niagara, captured that fortress, and put nearly all the 
garrison to the sword. Being re-enforced, the British now 
proceeded under general Rial!, to destroy Lewiston, Man- 
chester, and the villages of the Tuscarora Indians. On the 
30th of December, general Riall again crossed at Black 
Rock, and destroyed that village and Buffalo. This being 
accomplished, the British then proceeded several miles into 
the interiour, destroying every thing in their progress. 

26. On the 29th of February, 1813, the United States 
ship Hornet, captain Lawrence, fell in with and captured the 
British sloop of war Peacock, commanded by captain Peake. 
The action took place off the coast of Brazil, and lasted 
but fifteen minutes. The loss of the British in killed and 
wounded, was about forty : that of the Americans was but 
five. The conquered vessel was so much injured in the ac- 
tion, that she sunk before her crew could all be removed to 
the Hornet, and thirteen of those unfortunate men went 
down with their ship. On board the British ship, were three 
impressed Americans, who were compelled, against their 
earnest and repeated solicitations, to fight against their 
country. One was killed in the action, and the other two 
were found among the prisoners. 

27. The United States frigate Chesapeake was captured 
by the British frigate Shannon, on the 1st of June. The 
former was lying in Boston harbour, having just completed 
the recruiting- of her crew, and received captain Lawrence 
as her commander, to whom the officers* and men were stran- 
gers. The latter also were in a state of insubordination and 
dissatisfaction, on account of not having received their pay. 
While in this situation, the Shannon appeared off the harbour, 
thus challenging Lawrence to come out and fight. The 
challenge was accepted, and the Chesapeake stood out to 
sea and prepared for action. A furious battle ensued, and 
in a few minutes every officer on board the Chesapeake, ca- 
pable of commanding, including Lawrence himself, was 
either lulled or severely wounded. The heroick Lawrence, 

24 



274 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

when asked " if the colours should be struck," replied, " No ; 
they shall wave while I live." At the moment when Law- 
rence was carried below, the British boarded the Chesapeake, 
and lowered her colours. Lawrence survived four days, 
and was buried at Halifax, whither the Shannon had carried 
her prize. He was interred with every mark of distinction ; 
the oldest captains on the station bore his pall, thus evincing 
that they loved and admired his bravery. 

28. Another naval disaster soon followed the loss of the 
Chesapeake. On the 14th of August, the United States sloop 
of war Argus, commanded by lieutenant Allen, was captured 
in St. George's channel, after an action of nearly an hour, 
by the British sloop of war Pelican, commanded by captain 
Maples. Lieutenant Allen was mortally wounded in the com- 
mencement of the action, and died in England, regretted even 
by his foes, who buried him in the same manner as they would 
have buried an officer of their own nation. The loss of the 
Americans was forty ; that of the British was only eight. 

29. On the 4th of September, the American brig Enter- 
prise, lieutenant Burrows, sailed from Portland, and the same 
(lay descried and captured the British brig Boxer, captain 
Blyth commander. As soon as the Enterprise was discover* 
ed, the captain of the Boxer fired a gun as a challenge, and 
raised three British ensigns, which he caused to be nailed 
to the mast. Soon after the engagement commenced, lieu- 
tenant Burrows was mortally wounded, but refusing to be 
carried below, in his last moments he raised his head and de- 
sired that the flag might never be struck. Lieutenant M'Call, 
upon whom the command now devolved, gave directions to 
board the enemy. It was now discovered that captain Blyth 
too was slain, that his vessel was rendered unmanageable, 
and that his colours, being nailed to the mast, could not be 
struck. The crew demanded quarter, and the Enterprise 
returned to Portland with the captured vessel, where the bo- 
dies of the deceased commanders were received and interred 
with every mark of respect. 

30. The Creek Indians commenced a war with the United 
States early in the spring of 1813. The American govern- 
ment had erected a fort in the Tensau settlement for the pro- 
tection of the whites. This fort was called fort Mims, and 
was now filled with the adjacent inhabitants, and under the 
command of major Beasely. This officer, though repeatedly 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 275 

warned of the approaching storm, still delayed making any 
preparations to avert its consequences. On the 30th of Au* 
gust, at mid-day, the fort was attacked by about six hundred 
Indians, thirsting for carnage. At first the garrison stood 
its ground and forced the savages to retire ; but they again 
returned, enclosed the besieged in the houses, which they set 
on fire. An indiscriminate and cruel massacre followed. 
Out of three hundred souls which the fort contained, only 
seventeen escaped to tell the tale of wo. 

31. To avenge this massacre and punish the Indians, three 
thousand men from Tennessee under the command of gene- 
ral Jackson, and five hundred under the command of general 
Coffee, marched into the Indian territory. Jackson, who took 
the ^command, fixed his head quarters at the ten islands, in 
Coosa river, from whence he detached general Coffee, at the 
head of nine hundred mounted men, to attempt the destruc- 
tion of a party of the Creek Indians, who had taken post 
at Tallushatchie. Here a desperate and sanguinary battle 
was fought, in which the Americans gained the victory. Not 
one of the savages escaped. Two hundred of them fell on 
the field of battle, and eighty-four women and children were 
taken prisoners. Of the Americans, forty-six were killed and 
wounded. 

32. At Talladega a bloody battle was fought on the 7th of 
November. General Jackson hearing that a party of friendly 
Creeks were surrounded and in danger of destruction, march- 
ed with twelve hundred men to their relief. Having come 
up with the enemy, he made the most judicious preparations 
for completely surrounding them, and commenced an attack. 
Two hundred and ninety of the Indian warriours were killed. 
Forty-five of the whites were slain, and eighty-five wounded. 
On the 11th of November, general White was detached to 
attempt the destruction of the Hillabee towns. Destroying 
two villages on his route, White entered the towns on the 
18th, at the dawn of day. Here were about three hundred 
inhabitants. Sixty warriours were slain, and the remainder 
of the Indians, consisting of the aged and helpless, were made 
prisoners. 

33. The last of November, general Floyd attacked and 
defeated the Indians at Autossee, or Sacred Ground. He 
had been detached by the governour, with nine hundred and 
fifty militia, and near four hundred friendly Indians, to protect 



276 AMERICAN HISTORY. 



nto 



the frontiers of that state. With this force, he marched 1 
the most flourishing part of the Creek country. He found 
the Indians drawn up in order of battle at Autossee, which 
they supposed it would be death for any white man to 
approach. Eight towns had poured out their warriours to 
defend their consecrated ground ; and as was to be expected, 
they fought with a bravery bordering on desperation ; but 
they fought in vain. The Americans were victorious, and the 
towns of the Creeks, containing upward of four hundred 
houses, were burned. Two hundred Indian warriours were 
slain, among whom were the Autossee and Tallasee kings. 
The Americans lost fifty, killed and wounded ; among the 
latter was general Floyd. 

34. On the 23d of December, general Claiborne, at the 
head of the Mississippi volunteers, gained another important 
victory over the Creeks at Eccanachaca, or Holy Ground, on 
the Alabama river. The term of service for the militia of 
Tennessee having expired, they became mutinous, and were 
disbanded and dismissed. On the 14th of January, general 
Jackson was re-enforced by eight hundred volunteers ; but as 
their term of service was only sixty days, it was determined 
to attack a considerable force of the enemy, collected on 
Emuckfaw creek. On the 17th, the troops marched, and on 
the 18th they reached Talladega, where they were joined by 
four hundred friendly Indians. On the 22d and 23d, the In- 
dians made a spirited attack upon the Americans, but were 
repulsed. The loss of the whites in these engagements, was 
twenty killed, and seventy-five wounded. 

35. To rescue their country from destruction, the Creeks 
determined to make one more desperate effort. For this 
purpose they strongly fortified the bend of the Tallapoosa, 
called by the Indians Tohopeka, and by the whites, the horse- 
shoe bend. This was a place of great security. Here the 
Creeks erected a breastwork, from five to eight feet rnVh. 
across the peninsula. This could not be approached without 
an exposure to a double and cross fire from those who were 
lying behind. At this spot one thousand warriours had col- 
lected. To prevent the savages from escaping, general Cof- 
fee was sent across the river to take post opposite the bend.' 
With the remainder of his force, general Jackson attacked 
the fortifications in front. The Indians made a brave resist- 
ance, and the combatants fought through the port-holes, and 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 27? 

muzzle to muzzle. But the Greeks were entirely cut to 
pieces. Five hundred and fifty of them were killed on the 
peninsula, beside many who were shot in attempting to cross 
the river. Gen. Jackson's loss, including the friendly Indians, 
was fifty four killed, and one hundred and fifty-six wounded. 

36. The effect of this decisive victory, was the entire sub- 
mission of the Creeks, and the termination of the Creek war. 
Among those who threw themselves upon the mercy of the 
victors, was Weatherford, equally distinguished for his ta- 
lents and his cruelty. " I am in your power," said he, " do 
with me what you please. I have done the white people all 
the harm I could. I have fought them, and fought them 
bravely. There was a time when I had a choice. I have 
none now ; every hope is ended. Once I could animate 
my wariours to battle; but I cannot animate the dead. 
They can no longer hear my voice ; their bones are at Tal- 
lushatchie, Talladega, Emuckfaw, and Tohopeka. While 
there was a chance of success, I never supplicated peace ; 
but my people are gone, and I now ask it for my nation and 
myself." During the summer of 1814, a treaty was formed 
with the Creeks, on terms very advantageous to the United 
States. General Jackson was soon after appointed to the 
command of the army at New-Orleans. 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What took place on the 19th Aug., 1812?— 2. What occurred 
soon after the capture of the Gurriere ? — 3. What on the 13th Oct. ?— - 
4. What took place at the instant the Americans possessed the heights 
of Queenston ?— 5. Who was appointed to the command of the north- 
western army in Sept. ?~6. What took place on the 12th Nov.?— 7. 
What on the 18th Oct.?— 8. What on the 25th ?— 9. What on the 29th 
Dec. ? — 10. Who were elected president and vice-president of the U 
States the 4th of March, 1813?— 11. What occurred about this time? 
— 12. What occurred on the first of May ? — 13. What fort was next 
besieged by Proctor ? — 14. What place surrendered to the Americans 
under general Pike ? — 15. What places were captured by the Ameri- 
cans in May ? — 16. What occurred soon after the attack on Sackettg 
Harbour?— 17. What took place on the 10th Sept.?— 18. What did 
general Harrison do after taking possession of Detroit ? — 19. In the 
action at the Moravian towns, how many men did the British lose ?— * 
20. What did the British do in the early part of this year?— 21. What 
did admiral Warren do soon after leaving the Delaware ? — 22. What 
took place on the 5th Oct. ? — 23. W T hat was done to facilitate opera- 
tions ?— 24. What occurred on the 11th Oct. ? — 25. What village was 
burned on the 10th of Dec, and by whose orders ? — 26. What navaj 
action took place on the 29th Feb., 1813 ?— 27. What naval loss did 
tfesU. States suffer on the first June ?— 28. What sooa followed the 
24* 



278 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

loss of the Chesapeake?— 29. What occurred on the 4th Sept.? — 30 
What early in the spring of 1813?— 31. What was done to punish the 
Indians ? — 32. Where was a battle fought on the 7th Nov. ? — 33. Where 
were the Indians defeated the last of Nov. ?— 34. What took place on 
the 23d Dec. ? — 35. What did the Creeks do to rescue their country 
from destruction ? — 36. What was the effect of the victory at Tohopeka 

SECTION XIV, 

CONTINUATION OF THE WAR WITH ENGLAND. TREATY 01 
PEACE WITH BRITAIN. 

1. In the spring of 1813, the emperor of Russia offered 
his mediation in the quarrel between the United States and 
England. This offer was cordially accepted by the presi- 
dent, and John Q. Adams, Albert Gallatin, and James A. 
Bayard, were sent to Russia to meet commissioners from 
Great Britain. England, however, declined the overtures of 
Russia, but offered to treat directly with the United States. 
To this proposition the American government acceded, and 
the commissioners proceeded to Ghent, where they were met 
by lord Gambier, Henry Golbourn, and William Adams, com- 
missioners on the part of England. The United States also 
added Henry Clay and Jonathan Russell to the commission 
previously appointed. At this juncture, Great Britain being 
released from the war in Europe by the treaty of Paris, found 
her arms and resources at liberty to be employed against the 
United States, and the opinion of her ministry seemed to be, 
that the British fleets would soon sweep from the ocean the 
ships of America, while the very appearance of her veteran 
armies, would drive the soldiers of the union far into the 
interiour. 

2. In pursuance of these views, soon after the peace of 
Paris was ratified, fourteen thousand of the troops who had 
served with such glory under Wellington, were embarked for 
Canada, and a strong naval force was sent to invade several 
parts of the coast of the U. States. On the 24th of May, 1813, 
congress assembled for an extra session. Great clamours 
were at this time raised by the party opposed to the war ; but 
congress, notwithstanding, proceeded with firmness in the dis- 
charge of their duty. A system of internal duties was fixed, 
and taxes were laid upon lands and houses, distilled liquors, 
refined sugars, retailers' licenses, carriages, sales at auction. 



AMERICAN HISTORY, 279 

and bank notes. A revenue of five millions of dollars was 
expected to be raised by these means, and the president was 
authorized to borrow seven and a half millions. On the 2d 
of August congress adjourned. 

3. About the time congress adjourned, forty persons, who 
had long resided in the United States, and become naturali- 
zed, having been taken in arms against Great Britain, were 
sent to England to be tried for treason. When congress 
met in December, the president, by message, communicated 
these circumstances to that body, who, after mature delibera- 
tion, feeling themselves bound to protect the citizens of the 
United States, determined upon measures of retaliation. 
Forty British prisoners were accordingly selected, and sub- 
jected to the same hardships inflicted upon the Americans in 
England. This measure the British retaliated by doubling 
the number confined, and this again was retaliated by the 
Americans. At length, both governments weary of retaliato- 
ry measures, consented to an exchange of prisoners, except 
those first sent for trial, and should any violence hereafter be 
done them, the United States reserved the right to retaliate, 

4. In a short time after the adjustment of this difficulty ? 
the president recommended to congress, laying an embargo 
upon exports, with a view both to deprive the enemy of sup- 
plies, and protect the commerce of the United States. After 
much warm debate, the proposed measure was adopted, and 
a law was enacted, prohibiting the importation of any articles 
of British manufacture. The adoption of these measures 
was regarded by those opposed to the war, as calculated to 
injure Britain less than America, and they were pronounced 
oppressive and unconstitutional. But as the great political 
changes which had taken place in Europe, had in a mea- 
sure rendered it expedient to change the policy of America, 
these restrictions on her commerce were not of long continu- 
ance, and in April, the embargo and non-importation acts 
were both repealed. 

5. On the 5th of May, 1814, the British made an attack 
upon Oswego, which was a deposite for nnval stores. The 
place was defended by a fort mounting only fi\e guns, and a 
garrison of five hundred men under colonel Mitchell. Fif- 
teen hundred British troops under general Drummond, ap- 
peared before the place, but could not effect a landing. On 
the 6th he renewed the attempt, and was more successful, 



280 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Colonel Mitchell stood his ground for half an hour, and then 
retreated twelve miles, to a place whither he had caused the 
stores to be removed. The British pursued : but Mitchell 
breaking down a bridge in his rear, they were defeated in their 
object, and evacuated the town. The fleet returned to 
Kingston, leaving only a few gun boats on the lake. Soon 
after, major Appling and captain Woolsey, were directed to 
remove the stores to Sacketts Harbour. When off Sandy 
Creek, perceiving that they were discovered by the enemy, 
they ran their boats into the creek, landed their men, and 
formed an ambuscade on its banks. The British followed, 
supposing the stores would be an easy prey, and were com- 
pletely surprised, surrendering after an action often minutes. 

6. On the 21st of February, 1814, a severe action occurred 
near the river Thames, about two days march from Detroit. 
Captain Holmes had been sent to dislodge a party of British 
stationed near the Thames ; but when within fifteen miles of 
their position, he received information that three hundred of 
the enemy were within an hour's march of him. He imme- 
diately retired five miles to a more favourable position, and 
sent a detachment to discover their strength. These soon 
returned, followed by the British, who feigned an attack and 
then retreated, in order to draw the Americans from their fa- 
vourable position. Holmes followed five miles, when he 
found the main body of the enemy preparing for action. He 
then retired to his former position, where he was attacked on 
all sides, and a severe contest ensued, which lasted about an 
hour, when the British retreated. The enemy lost sixty-nine* 
killed and wounded ; the Americans only six. 

7. Early in the spring, the British ascended the Connecti- 
cut river as far as Pettipaug, where they destroyed shipping 
to the value of two hundred thousand dollars. The Liver- 
pool Packet, a British privateer, doing great damage to the 
American commerce, commodore Lewis went in pursuit, 
and succeeded in chasing her off. Taking under convoy 
about fifty vessels which he found lying at Saybrook, he 
eluded the squadivn, then blockading the harbour of New- 
London, and conducted them safe to sea. On the 3d of 
July, general Brown, with a force amounting to three thou- 
sand five hundred men, crossed the Niagara, and invested 
fort Erie, which immediately surrendered. On the 4th, the 
Americans marched to attack the British, who were advan- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 281 

lageously posted at the mouth of the Chippewa. The num- 
ber of the enemy amounted to three thousand men, under the 
command of general Riall, and they were mostly veterans, 
who had seen much service in Europe. 

8. On the 5th of July, a general and bloody engagement 
occurred at Chippewa, in which the American troops, who 
had seen scarcely two years service, vanquished, in fair fight, 
those soldiers of whom it had been predicted, that they would 
conquer America. Generals Brown, Scott, Ripley, and Por- 
ter, led on their men, and their officers nobly seconded their 
efforts. The English gave way on all sides, and retreated 
with the greatest precipitation, seeking shelter behind their 
entrenchments. The movements of general Scott and his 
brigade were so decisive and rapid, that the enemy were to- 
tally defeated, before the brigade of general Ripley could be 
brought into action. General Brown now ordered up the 
artillery to batter the British fortifications ; but the day was 
so far spent, and the works appeared so strong, that he called 
off his men, and returned to his camp. The loss of the 
British in this action was five hundred and fourteen, in killed, 
wounded, and prisoners : that of the Americans was three 
hundred and twenty-eight. 

9. On the 25th of July, another action took place at 
Bridge water, between the British under general Drummond, 
and the Americans under general Brown. The enemy's 
forces amounted to about five thousand ; that of the Ameri- 
cans to nearly the same as at the battle of Chippewa. Gen. 
Swift, who was stationed at Queenston, in charge of the 
wounded, and to protect the stores at fort Schlosser, finding 
his post threatened, informed general Brown of his situation, 
who detached general Scott with his brigade and Towson's 
artillery, to make a movement on the Queenston road, in or- 
der to divert the enemy from their design. While performing 
this service, Scott unexpectedly fell in with the whole of the 
British army, strongly posted on an eminence behind a wood, 
from whence they intended to attack the Americans the next 
day. Having transmitted this intelligence to general Brown, 
he immediately commenced the engagement. After a hard 
fought action, which commenced before sunset and lasted till 
midnight, the British gave way, and left their position and 
artillery to the victors. The British loss was eight hundred 
and seventy-eight : that of the Americans eight hundred anq 



282 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

sixty. Generals Drummond and Rial] were wounded, and 
the latter was taken prisoner. Generals Brown and Ripley 
were also among the wounded, and major M'Farlahd and 
captain Ritchie. 

10. On the 4th of August, general Drummond commenc- 
ed the siege of fort Erie. The garrison amounted to six 
teen hundred men : the number of the besiegers to five thou 
sand. On the morning of the 15th, the British advanced in 
three columns, under the command of Drummond, Fischer, 
and Scott. The right and left columns frequently attacked, 
and were as frequently repulsed. The centre column, under 
Drummond, succeeded in scaling the walls and taking pos- 
session of a bastion. Drummond cried out to give the Ame- 
ricans no quarter ; but while he was giving the order, a 
barrel of gunpowder beneath him took fire. The assailants 
and assailed, together with the bastion, were blown into the 
air. The British who survived fled in dismay, and in passing 
the American batteries, their numbers were greatly thinned. 
According to the accounts of the British, their loss amounted 
to fifty-seven killed, among whom were Scott and Drum- 
mond, three hundred and nineteen wounded, and five hun- 
dred and nineteen missing. The loss of the Americans was 
only eighty-four. Among the killed were captain Williams 
and lieutenant Macdonough, officers of great merit. 

11. Early in the year 1814, commodore Barney was block- 
aded in the Patuxent by a British squadron, which carried on 
a predatory warfare upon the shores of the Chesapeake. As 
the design of the British was evidently to make a descent up- 
on some part of the coast, the American government was not 
inattentive to their movements, or dilatory in making prepa- 
rations to receive them. Measures were taken for defending 
the cities of Washington and Baltimore. On the 4th of July 
the president made a requisition upon the governours of the 
different states, for the detachment of ninety -three thousand 
militia. Fifteen thousand of these were required from the tenth 
military district, embracing Maryland, the district of Colum- 
bia, and a part of Virginia. To these were added one thou- 
sand regulars, and the whole was placed imder the command 
of genera] Winder. 

12. On the 17th of August the British squadron, in three 
divisions, prepared for more active operations in the Chesa- 
peake. One division proceeded up the Patuxent ; another 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 283 

ascended the Potomack ; while a third went up the Chesa- 
peake, as if to threaten Baltimore. On the 19th, Gen. Ross 
landed at the head of five thousand men, and on the 20th he 
commenced his march along the Patuxent. On the 22d they 
came in sight of the American fleet, which was abandoned 
and set on fire by commodore Barney. The enemy were 
now only sixteen miles from Washington, toward which they 
began their march. When general Winder was informed of 
the near approach of the British troops, he advanced toward 
them and encamped half way between Marlborough and 
Washington. On the 23d, at night, the British encamped 
only five miles from the American army. The president of 
the United States, and the secretary of war, here visited ge- 
neral Winder, and it was resolved to "fall back to a position 
nearer to Washington, for the purpose of concentrating the 
American force. This retreating policy was pursued till Win- 
der had crossed the eastern branch of the Potomack, when 
he made provision for guarding the bridge ; it being supposed 
that the enemy would attempt to reach the capital from this 
quarter. The militia from Baltimore, to the number of two 
thousand two hundred, under general Stansbury, now ad- 
vanced to the relief of Washington, and rested on the night 
of the 23d near Bladensburg. The next day, Stansbury, by 
the orders of general Winder, commenced an attack on the 
enemy, who had by a circuitous route reached the Bladens- 
burg road, and were advancing toward the capital. In this 
action the Americans were defeated with considerable loss. 

13. On the 24th, at 8 o'clock in the evening, general Ross, 
at the head of the British army, entered the city of Washing- 
ton. Their conduct here would have disgraced the barbari- 
ans of the middle ages; and they rendered themselves and their 
country odious in the eyes of the civilized world. The Bri- 
tish commenced their devastations by destroying the capital, 
together with the extensive library, publick records, and every 
thing else of value which it contained. They next destroyed 
the president's house, and the publick offices ; but the stores 
at the navy yard, and the vessels on the stocks, were burned by 
the order of the president, in order to prevent them f»om fall- 
ing into the hands of the enemy. The loss of the publick 
property alone, amounted in value to one million of dollars. 
On the evening of the 24th the British left Washington, and 
without any opposition, returned to their shipping, which they 



284 AMERICAN HISTORY 



. 



reached on the 27th, and embarked. The loss of the Ameri- 
cans at the battle of Bladensburg, was eighty killed and 
wounded : that of the British, two hundred and forty-nine. 

14. The British squadron which passed up the Potomac k 
appeared on the 27th of August before Alexandria, and the 
inhabitants entered into a capitulation, by which they deliver- 
ed up all their merchandise and shipping to the enemy. The 
fleet under Sir Peter Parker, which had sailed up the Chesa- 
peake, landed about two hundred and fifty marines near Bel- 
lair, in order to surprise a party of militia encamped at that 
place under the command of colonel Reed. In this attempt, 
the British were repulsed with the loss of forty-one in killed 
and wounded. Sir Peter Parker received a mortal wound. 
The British, much elated with their success at Washington 
and Alexandria, next turned their attention toward Baltimore, 
and passing down the Patuxent, they sailed up the Chesa- 
peake as far as the mouth of the Patapsco, fourteen miles 
from the city, and general Ross, with five thousand men, land- 
ed at North Point, on the morning of the 12th of September, 
and commenced his march for his object. 

15. In the attack upon Baltimore, the enemy were entirely 
defeated, and general Ross was killed. Colonel Brooke then 
assumed the command, and at about half past three, on the 
12th, advanced to attack the Americans under general Striek- 
er. After maintaining the action some time, the Americans 
retired behind their intrenchments. On the morning of the 
1 3th, the British army moved to within a mile and a half of the 
American fortifications, and made several movements to draw 
them from their strong position. Colonel Brooke, aware of 
his own inferiority of numbers, and the strong position of his 
opponents, made no attack during the day, but disposed his 
troops for a night attack. But in the evening he received in- 
formation from the commander of the naval force, that he had 
found fort M 'Henry wa3 impregnable, and that the harbour 
was blocked up by vessels sunk for the purpose, and that 
the fleet could not co-operate with the army. Colonel Brooke 
therefore abandoned the contemplated attack, and on the 15th 
re-embarked his troops. 

16. On the 11th of July, commodore Hardy made a de- 
scent upon the coast of Maine, with eight ships of the line, 
and two thousand men, and took Eastport and all the towns 
on the east side of the Passamaquoddy bay. In August the 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 285 

governour of New-Brunswick, took possession of Castine, 
and proceeding up the river Penobscot for the purpose of de- 
stroying the frigate John Adams, which had been placed there 
for preservation. The militia who had been stationed there 
for its defence, fled on the approach of the British, after blow- 
ing up the frigate. Commodore Hardy next appeared before 
Stonington, in Connecticut, and threatened to destroy the 
tdwn. But they were so much annoyed by a battery of two 
eighteen pounders, that they withdrew to another part of the 
town, which they hoped to find defenceless. But here the 
well-directed fire of a six pounder, forced them to retire to 
their ships. During the night they kept up a heavy bombard- 
ment upon the place, and in the morning renewed the attack. 
In this also they were repulsed, and compelled to retire. 

17. In July and August, the British made preparations for 
invading the United States by the way of lake Champlain. 
Sir George Provost, placing himself at the head of an army 
of fourteen thousand men, many of whom had acquired ex- 
perience and reputation in the war of the Spanish peninsula, 
under Wellington, advanced in two columns upon Plattsburg. 
One column, with all the baggage and artillery, took the lake 
road, and the other took the road leading by Beekmantown. 
The American army at Plattsburg, which had been greatly 
weakened by the departure of general Izard for the relief of 
fort Erie, was commanded by general Macomb, who, when 
he received intelligence of the intended invasion, called upon 
the militia of Vermont, and the northeastern part of New- 
York. Nor was his call in vain, for the inhabitants willingly 
offered themselves to aid in repressing the invaders of their 
country. 

18. The 11th of September, 1814, is memorable for the 
defeat of the British squadron pn lake Champlain, and of the 
British army before Plattsburg. On the morning of that day, 
Sir George had but just completed his preparations for as- 
saulting the American lines, wn©n the British squadron, un- 
der commodore Downie, entered the bay of Plattsburg. This 
fleet consisted of the frigate Confiance of thirty-nine guns, a 
brig of sixteen, two sloops of eleven, and several gallies — the 
whole mounting ninety-five guns, and carrying one thousand 
men. The American squadron, under commodore Macdo- 
nough, was anchored in the bay, and mounted in all, eighty-six 
guns, and carried only eight hundred and twenty men. At 

25 



296 AMERICAN HISTORY, 

nine o'clock the British fleet anchored within three hundred 
yards of the American line, and commenced the action. The 
surface of the lake was unagitated ; and the two fleets, for an 
hour and a half, poured upon each other a terrible and destruc- 
tive fire. The British frigate then surrendered, and soon af- 
ter, the smaller vessels followed her example. Commodore 
Downie was slain, with eighty-four of his men. One hun- 
dred and ten of the British were wounded. The Americans 
lost in killed and wounded, one hundred and ten. At the 
same moment in which the fleets commenced the engage- 
ment on the lake, the British opened their batteries upon the 
American works, but with little effect. As soon, however, as 
the British fleet surrendered, Sir George called off his troops, 
and commenced his retreat toward Canada, leaving behind 
him large quantities of military stores and ammunition. 

1 9. In April, commodore Porter returned from a cruise of 
nearly two years in the Pacifick ocean. In the autumn of 
1812, he left the Delaware, and arrived at Valparaiso in 
March, 1813, from whence he proceeded to Lima. He then 
cruised among the Gallipagos islands till October, greatly 
annoying the British commerce. He captured twelve armed 
whale ships, carrying in all, one hundred and seven guns, and 
three hundred and two men. One of these ships, the Atlan- 
tick,he equipped for a store ship, calling her the Essex Junior, 
and gave lieutenant Downs the command. The British go- 
vernment, alarmed at the success of Porter, sent out commo- 
dore Hillyar, with the frigate Phebe, of fifty-three guns, and 
three hundred and twenty men, and the Cherub sloop of war, 
of twenty-eight guns, and one hundred and eighty men, to stop 
his career of victory. On learning the approach of this force, 
commodore Porter sailed for the island of Noaheevah to refit 
his vessel. He took possession of the island in the name of 
the United States, changed its name to Madison's Island, and 
established a friendly intercourse with the natives. Having 
r.efitted the Essex, his own sriip, he left three of his prizes at 
the island, under the care of lieutenant Gamble, and departed 
for the neutral port of Valparaiso, accompanied by his store 
ship, the Essex Junior, where he met commodore Hillyar, 
who had been searching for him five months without success. 

20. On the 28th of March, 1814, after having been block- 
aded in the port five weeks, the wind being favourable, he de- 
termined to make an attempt to escape. In passing the err- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 287 

irance into the bay, a sudden squall carried away his main 
top mast. The enemy having given chase with both their 
ships, the American commodore, in his disabled state, was 
obliged to return and anchor in a small bay within pistol shot 
of the shore, expecting that Hilly ar would regard the neutra- 
lity of the port. Seeing, however, that he continued to ar> 
proach, the Essex made every preparation for defence. Com- 
modore Hillyar commenced the attack, but so warm was his 
reception, that after an action of half an hour, the Phebe and 
Cherub were obliged to haul off for the purpose of repairing 
damages. This being quickly accomplished, a tremendous 
firing was renewed. The Phebe being able to choose her 
distance, took a position out of the reach of the guns of the 
Essex, while with her own long guns she poured a most de- 
structive fire upon the American frigate, many of whose guns 
had all their men killed, and one gun was manned three times 
during the action. Porter then attempted to board the ene- 
my, but his masts and rigging were so much disabled, that the 
ship was unmanageable. He then endeavoured to run his ves- 
sel on shore, but the wind shifting, rendered it impracticable. 
At length, seeing the hopelessness of a longer contest, Porter 
summoned the officers for the purpose of consulting upon the 
expediency of surrendering. To his surprise, lieutenant 
M'Knight was the only officer remaining. The colours were 
then struck, but the Phebe continued the fire ten minutes after- 
ward. The whole crew of the Essex were either killed or 
wounded, except seventy-five. The loss of the British was 
evere, and their ships were in a sinking condition. 

21. On the 21st of April, 1814, the British frigate Orpheus, 
captured the United States sloop of war Frolick, commanded 
by commodore Bainbridge. On the 29th of the same month, 
the United States sloop of war Peacock, captured the British 
brig Epervier, The action took place in latitude 27° 47 / 
north, and 30° 9' west longitude : the Epervier lost eight 
men killed, and fifteen wounded ; while the Peacock had only 
two men slightly wounded, and not one killed. On the 28th 
of June, the American ship Wasp, fell in with and captured, 
near the entrance of St. George's channel, after an action of 
nineteen minutes, the British brig Raindeer, captain Man- 
ners commander. The Raindeer lost her commander, and 
twenty-seven men killed, and forty-two wounded : the Wagp 
had twenty-six, killed and wounded. The Wasp continued 



288 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

her cruise, and on the 27th of August, she met the Englisl 
brig Avon, captain Arbuthnot commander. After an action 
of forty-five minutes, three British vessels came in sight, and 
the Wasp was obliged to leave her prize, which sunk soon af- 
ter. The Wasp continued her cruise, and captured fifteen 
sail of merchant vessels ; but she never returned to the United 
States, neither is it known what has become of her or her 
crew. She undoubtedly foundered at sea, or was wrecked 
on some inhospitable coast, and her men fell victims to savage 
barbarity. 

22. The last naval action during the war, resulted in the 
loss of the American frigate President, then under the com- 
mand of commodore Decatur. Four British vessels, the 
Pomone, the Tenedos, the Majestick, and the Endymion, 
were off Sandy Hook,~ blockading the harbour of New-York* 
On the 15th of January, 1815, Decatur attempting to put 
to sea, the blockading squadron immediately gave chase, 
which continued eighteen hours, when the commodore was 
brought to an action with the Endymion. The action con- 
tinued two hours and a half, and the guns of the enemy were 
silenced, when the whole fleet appeared. Decatur having 
one fifth of his crew disabled, and being opposed by a force far 
superiour to his own, yielded to necessity, and struck his flag. 

23. In October, the American commissioners in Europe 
informed their government, that Great Britain demanded such 
terms as made the prospect of a speedy reconciliation almost 
hopeless. The state of the union was such, at this time, as 
to fill the friends of their country with alarm. The income 
of the nation was far less than its expenditure ; its credit was 
low, its finances disordered, and in some parts of the country 
the most bitter opposition to every measure of government 
was manifested. Yet congress, not dismayed, hastened to 
discharge the duties imposed by the crisis. New loans were 
authorized, taxes were augmented, and every measure neces- 
sary for carrying on the war with vigour was adopted. Mr. 
Armstrong was removed from the post of secretary of war, 
and colonel Monroe appointed to the office, and Mr. Dallas, 
of Pennsylvania, was made secretary of the treasury. 

24. On the 15th of December, 1814, the Hartford conven- 
tion, consisting of delegates from Massachusetts, Connecti- 
cut, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New-Hampshire, met at the 
city of Hartford, and continued its sittings for nearly three 



AMERICAN HISTORY, 289 

weeks, with closed doors. After their adjournment, they 
published an address, in which they charged the national go- 
vernment with adopting measures hostile to the interests of 
New-England, and recommended certain amendments to the 
constitution. Among these amendments, they proposed that 
congress should not have power to lay an embargo for a long- 
er time than sixty days ; that they should not pass any non- 
intercourse act, or declare war without the concurrence of 
two-thirds of both houses ; that no person, hereafter naturali- 
zed, should be eligible to a seat in either the senate or house 
of representatives, or to any civil office under the govern- 
ment of the United States ; that the same person should not 
be twice elected president ; and that the president should not 
be elected from the same state two successive terms. These 
proposed amendments, were submitted to the several states, 
and rejected by all except Massachusetts, Connecticut and 
Rhode Island. Probably no measure, since the declaration 
of independence, had been taken so odious to the greater part 
of the American people, as the calling of this convention ; 
and certainly, no one subjected its agents to more severe 
personal as well as political censure. 

25. Soon after the peace with the Creeks, general Jackson 
fixed his head quarters at Mobile, where he learned that three 
English ships had entered the harbour of Pensacola, and 
landed three hundred men under colonel Nichols, with a 
large quantity of arms and ammunition for the equipment of 
the Indians. Information was also received, that the British 
contemplated making a descent upon the southern shores of 
the United States, with a large force. Jackson immediately 
made a requisition upon the state of Tennessee, for two 
thousand militia, which was promptly answered. A rendez- 
vous of pirates having for a long time been established on the 
island of Barataria, west of the mouth of the Mississippi, 
Nichols, instead of endeavouring to assist in routing them* 
as he had been requested by the officers of the United States, 
entered into a conference with La Fitte, their leader, disclos- 
ing to him the intended attack upon New-Orleans, and of- 
fered him a large reward, if, by his knowledge of the passes 
leading to the city, he would aid the British in their projected 
descent. La Fitte drew from Nichols a full disclosure of 
the plan, and then discovered the whole to go vernour Clai- 
borne, of Louisiana ; who, struck with the generosity of the 
25* 



290 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

pirate toward a country which had set a price upon his head* 
issued a proclamation, offering a pardon to his whole band, if 
they would come forward in defence of their country. The 
offer was accepted, and they afterward rendered important 
services, 

26, On the 7th of November, Jackson attacked and cap- 
tured Pensacola. The Spaniards had professed neutrality, 
but, notwithstanding, they suffered the British to enter the 
port and use it for the purpose of annoying the Americans. 
Jackson represented these facts to his government, but not 
receiving an answer, he assumed the responsibility of taking 
possession of the place. On the 6th of November, having 
arrived in the neighbourhood of the town, he sent a flag to 
desire a conference with the governour ; but his messenger 
was fired upon. On the 7th he entered the town at a place 
where he had not been expected, and after an ineffectual at- 
tempt at resistance, the governour capitulated. The British 
troops destroyed the forts at the entrance of the harbour, 
and retired from the bay with their shipping. Jackson now 
retired to Mobile, and receiving such intelligence as led him 
to the full belief that an attack would soon be made upon 
New-Orleans, he marched for that place, which he reached 
on the 1st of December. 

27. The circumstances favourable to an attack upon New- 
Orleans were, that it was assailable from many points ; it was 
settled by a motley population, consisting of French, Span- 
ia/ds, Creoles, Africans, and Americans; and these had so 
lately become members of the union, as hardly to be suscep- 
tible of that love of country which was indulged by the in- 
habitants of older states. The most distinguished citizens 
of Louisiana felt well grounded alarm at the prospect before 
them, and were stimulated to make greater exertions to meet 
the threatened danger. Governour Claiborne issued a pro- 
clamation, calling upon the inhabitants to arouse for the de- 
fence of their country. Edward Livingston, Esq., a distin- 
guished citizen, made use of his influence and talents, in ex- 
citing the people to courage and activity. To secure unity 
of effort, as soon as general Jackson arrived, the inhabitants, 
in full confidence of his abilities and valour, confided all their 
strength to his disposal, and placed him at the head of affairs. 
Under his direction, every measure for defence which could 
be used with any prospect of success, was adopted, and eve 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 291 

ry hand which could wield a sword, or handle a spade, was 
fully employed. 

28. Early in December, the enemy's fleet, to the number 
of sixty sail, and carrying upward of ten thousand men, ar- 
rived off Ship Island, and soon passed into lake Borgne. 
Jackson immediately despatched lieutenant Jones, with a 
small naval force, to oppose their passage into lake Ponchar- 
train. The British having a great number of boats, sent 
forty-three, carrying twelve hundred men, to attack the 
American flotilla, which carried only one hundred and eighty 
men. Lieutenant Jones sunk several of their barges, 
and killed a great number of their men ; but, after a brave 
resistance, he was obliged to surrender to superiour force. 
This loss placed New-Orleans in greater danger; and in or- 
der to expedite the defences, the prisoners were released from 
the jails on condition of their serving in the ranks. At this 
time, La Fitte with his Baratarians arrived, and were imme- 
diately employed. The circumstances of the times appear- 
ing to warrant the measure, general Jackson suspended the 
functions of the civil government, and proclaimed martial 
law, until the approaching crisis should have passed. 

29. On the 22d of December, three thousand British 
troops under general Kean, landed at the head of lake Borgne, 
and advanced, by two o'clock, to a position nine miles below 
New-Orleans. On the 23d, at five o'clock in the afternoon, 
Jackson made an attack upon the British camp ; but though 
the Americans fought with great bravery, the enemy retained 
their position, and Jackson withdrew to a position four miles 
below the city. His camp now occupied both sides of the 
river. On the left was a parapet a thousand yards in length, 
with a ditch in front, containing five feet of water. The 
right wing of the army rested on the river, and the left on a 
wood, which nature and art had rendered impervious. On 
the west bank of the river, batteries were erected, which 
completely defended the position on the right. 

30. On the 25th, Sir Edward Packenham, commander-in- 
chief of the British forces, arrived at the English camp witfc 
the main army, and a heavy train of artillery. On the 28th, 
Sir Edward advanced with his army, with the intention of 
forcing Jackson from his position. At the distance of half 
a mile from the American camp he halted, and opened a fu- 
rious cannonade upon the half finished works. This was 



292 AMERICAN HISTORY 






returned with spirit by the armed ship Louisiana, then lying 
in the river, and by the batteries on both banks. After a 
contest of seven hours, the British commander retired, with 
the loss of one hundred and twenty men. That of the 
Americans was only six killed and twelve wounded. During 
the action, general Jackson received information, that the le- 
gislature of Louisiana were forming plans for negotiating 
with the enemy. He immediately sent an order to governour 
Claiborne, to place a guard at the door of the place where 
they were assembled. The governour misconstrued the or- 
der, and instead of confining them in the house, turned them 
out, and placed a guard to prevent their reassembling. 

31. On the morning of the 8th of January, 1815, the 
whole British army, under the command of general Packen- 
ham, aided by generals Gibbs and Kean, advanced to attack 
the American intrenchments. Under a heavy fire the troops 
slowly but firmly pressed forward, carrying fascines and sca- 
ling ladders. Jackson had posted his army in two lines, and 
ordered the rear line to load for those in front. When 
the enemy came withing reach of their rifles, the whole line 
fired, and every soldier brought down his man. As soon 
as one rifle was discharged, another, loaded, was handed by 
those behind. In an instant, the plain was strewed with the 
dead and the dying, and the enemy fled in confusion. Sir 
Edward endeavoured to rally them for a second attack. While 
thus engaged, two balls struck him, and he fell, mortally 
wounded. Again the troops, encouraged by generals Gibbs 
and Kean, moved toward the intrenchments, and again they 
were met with the same deadly fire. A third time they ral- 
lied, and a third time they fled. Gibbs and Kean were both 
carried wounded from the field, and general Lambert, who 
now took the command, seeing the day irretrievably lost, re- 
turned to his former position, from whence, on the 18th, the 
British retired to their shipping, and left the coast. The 
British loss in the battle of New-Orleans, was twenty-six 
hundred, while that of the Americans was only seven hilled, 
and six ivounded. 

32. February 17th, a messenger arrived from Europe, 
bearing a treaty of peace with England, which had been 
made in December, and it was immediately ratified by the 
president. In this treaty, it was stipulated, that all places ta- 
ken by cither power during the war, should be immediately 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 298 

restored, and that the boundaries between the United States 
and the British possessions should be revised and settled. If 
any difficulty should arise respecting the settlement of boun- 
daries, it was to be referred to the arbitration of some friend- 
ly power, mutually selected. No express provision was 
contained against those maritime outrages of Britain, which 
had been the chief cause of war ; yet as the orders in coun- 
cil had been repealed, and the political state of Europe was 
greatly changed, there was less occasion to fear the recur- 
rence of similar acts of aggression. 

33. After the promulgation of peace, two naval battles 
were fought, in both of which the flag of the United States 
was triumphant. On the 20th of February, the Constitution, 
captain Stewart, fell in with and captured the Cyane and 
Levant, off the island of Madeira, after an action of forty 
minutes. The enemy lost thirty-eight, and the Constitution 
fifteen men in killed and wounded. On the 23d of March, 
the United States sloop of war Hornet, captured the British 
brig Penguin, after an action of twenty-two minutes. April 
6th, captain Shortland and the garrison at Dartmoor prison, 
committed a barbarous massacre upon the American prisoners 
there confined. Sixty-three were killed, and several wounded, 

QUESTIONS. 

1. What took place in the spring of 1813? — 2. What soon after the 
peace of Paris was ratified? — 3. What about the time congress ad- 
journed? — 4. What did the president recommend soon after the ad- 
justment of this difficulty ? — 5. What did the British do on the 5th IViav, 
l 1814?—p\ What occurred on the 21st Feb., 1814?— 7. What did the 
British do early in the spring ? — 8. What occurred on the 5th July ? — 
9. What on the 25th July ?— 10. What on the 4th August ?— 11. What 
occurred early in the year 1814? — 12. What on the 17th August? — 

13. When did general Ross with a British army enter Washington ? — 

14, What did the British squadron do, which passed up thePotomack ? 
— 15. What was the result of the attack upon Baltimore ? — 16. What 
did commodore Hardy do on the 11th July ? — 17. For what did the 
British make preparations in July and August ? — 18. For what is the 
11th Sept. 1814, memorable?— 19. What occurred in April ?— 20. What 
on the 28th March ?— 21. What on the 21st April? -22. In what did 
the last naval action during the war result ? — 23. What did the Amer- 
ican commissioners in Europe do in October? — 24. What met on the 
15th Dec, 1814? — 25. What took place soon after the peace with the 
Creeks? — 26. When did Jackson attack and capture Pensacola? — 
27. What were the circumstances favourable to an attack upon New 
Orleans?— 28. What took place early in Dec. ?— 29. What onthe 22d 
Dec. ?— 30. What on the 25th ?— 31. What on the morning of the 8th 
January?— 32. What on Feb, 17th ?— 33. What after the promulga- 
tion of peace ? 



294 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

SECTION XV. 

WAR WITH ALGIERS. UNITED STATES TO 1829. 

1. Soon after the ratification of peace with Great Britain, 
the United States declared war against Algiers. Two squad- 
rons were fitted out under the command of commodores De- 
catur and Bainbridge. The former officer sailed from New- 
York in May, and while proceeding up the Mediterranean, 
on the 17th of June, captured an Algerine frigate, and on the 
1 9th, an Algerine brig carrying twenty-two guns. He then 
proceeded to Algiers, and the Bey being intimidated, gladly 
signed a treaty both honourable and advantageous to the 
Americans. From thence he proceeded to Tunis and Tri- 
poli, and obtained ample satisfaction for the unprovoked vio- 
lation of subsisting treaties. Arriving at Gibraltar, Decatur 
joined the squadron under commodore Bainbridge, to whom 
he resigned the command, and returned to America. Bain- 
bridge paid a visit with his squadron to Algiers, Tunis, and 
Tripoli, but seeing no disposition to violate the treaties, he 
returned to the United States. 

2. At the close of the war, the army of the United States 
was reduced to ten thousand men, and for the better protec- 
tion of the country in case of another war, a large sum of 
money was appropriated for fortifying the sea coast and the 
frontiers, and for increasing the navy. Measures were also 
taken for obtaining a peace with the several tribes of Indians 
which had been hostile to the United States. Several of their 
chiefs met commissioners from the government at Detroit, 
where, on the 6th of September, they readily acceded to a re- 
newal of former treaties. In April, 1816, a national bank 
was incorporated, with a capital of thirty-five millions of dol- 
lars. In September, general Jackson concluded treaties with 
the Chickasaws, the Choctaws, and the Cherokees, on terms 
extremely favourable to the United States. In December, 
Indiana territory having the requisite number of inhabitants, 
was erected into a state, and admitted into the union. 

3. A society for colonizing the free blacks of the United 
States was formed in 1816. This society was not under the 
direction of the government, but many of the first men in the 
American nation became its warm friends and efficient pa- 
trons. A large tract of land in Africa was purchased, and a 
colony commenced, to which considerable numbers of tho 



AMERICAN HISTORY* 296 

free blacks in America are yearly sent. The object of the 
society is not gain, but the opening of a channel by which the 
coloured population of the United States may be removed ; 
and by establishing a colony at the very fountain of the slave 
trade, prevent in future that traffick in human beings, which 
has so long been the disgrace of civilized nations. By this 
means also, will be afforded to those masters of slaves who 
may wish to liberate them, an opportunity of doing it without 
exposing the country to the dangers to be apprehended from 
a numerous free black population. 

4. March 4th, 1817, James Monroe and Daniel D. Tomp- 
kins were inaugurated ; the former as president, and the latter 
as vice-president of the United States. During the summer 
of 1817, Mr. Monroe made the tour of the northern and mid- 
dle states, which gave great satisfaction to the people, by 
whom he was treated with every mark of affection and re- 
spect. This year, the chiefs of the Wyandots, Delawares, 
Shawnees, Senecas, Otto was, Chippeways, and Potowatta- 
mies, entered into a treaty with the United States, by which 
they ceded to the American government all the lands claimed 
by these tribes within the limits of Ohio. Mississippi terri- 
tory became a state, and was admitted into the union this 
year. About the same time, an arrangement was made with 
Great Britain for the mutual reduction of the naval force on 
the lakes. By this it was provided, that neither power should 
keep in service more than one armed vessel on lake Ontario, 
or more than two on lake Erie ; the vessels to carry only one 
gun each. 

5. In the year 1818, the United States were engaged in a 
war with the Seminole Indians, who resided on the southern 
borders of the union, and the northern frontier of Florida. 
Runaway negroes from the southern states, and out-laws from 
the Creek nation, united with the Seminoles in committing 
depredations upon the lives and property of citizens of the 
United States ; and for many months the southern frontier 
was kept in such a state of alarm, that at length the inhabi- 
tants fled into the older settlements for security. General 
Jackson with an adequate force was sent against the marau- 
ders, and defeated them in several engagements. Being ful- 
ly persuaded that the Spaniards furnished the Indians with 
supplies, Jackson entered Florida, and took possession of 
St. Marks and Pensacola, where he took as prisoners two 



296 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

Englishmen, Arbuthnot and Ambrister, and also the Indian 
prophet, Francis. Arbuthnot and Ambrister were tried by a 
court martial, condemned, and executed. St. Marks and 
Pensacola were restored to the Spaniards, by the order of the 
president, at the conclusion of the Seminole war. 

6. Treaties of commerce were this year concluded be- 
tween Great Britain, Sweden, and the United States. In the 
treaty with the former power, the northern boundary from the 
lake of the Woods to the Stony Mountains was adjusted. 
Congress now passed a law abolishing internal duties, and 
also for giving a pension of twenty dollars a month to every 
indigent revolutionary officer, and eight dollars a month to 
every indigent private who had served during the war. All 
the lands west of the Tennessee river, within the limits of the 
states of Tennessee and Kentucky, were this year ceded to 
the United States by the Chickasaws. In 1819, congress 
appropriated ten thousand dollars annually, for the establish- 
ment of schools among the Indian tribes within their territo- 
ries, and to promote in other ways their civilization. In ma- 
ny instances, these efforts have been crowned with success. 

7. Florida was ceded to the United States for five millions 
of dollars, in 1819. Possession, however, was not given till 
1821, the king of Spain on various pretences refusing to rati- 
fy the treaty till October, 1820. The purchase money for 
Florida, was appropriated by Spain to pay those citizens of 
the United States who had claims upon the former for spolia- 
tions and injuries formerly inflicted. Three commissioners 
were to be appointed by the president, for examining and de- 
ciding upon the validity of all claims included in the treaty. 
Alabama was made a state in 1820, and admitted into the 
union. The territory of Missouri, and the District of Maine 
also petitioned to be erected into states, but the request of 
the latter was only granted at that time. 

8. The Missouri question, or the question whether the in- 
troduction of slavery should be permitted in the new state of 
Missouri, greatly agitated the minds of the American people 
during the year 1820. In congress, the members from the 
northern states anxiously contended for prohibiting slavery in 
the new state about to be erected ; while those from the south- 
ern, as strenuously advocated the granting of the request of 
Missouri, without any restriction. Probably no question was 
ever agitated in the United States, which so greatly endan- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 297 

gtered the union as the one at this time agitated. At length 
a compromise was effected, by prohibiting slavery north of 
36° 30' in the territories of the United States, and Missouri 
was admitted into the union, without any restriction. The 
same year in which Missouri became a state, Mr. Monroe 
entered upon the second term of the presidency, by nearly 
a unanimous vote of the electors. 

9. The alarming increase of piracy demanded the atten- 
tion of the American government in 1822. The West In- 
dian seas were infested by a lawless and bloody set of men, 
who paid no respect to any flag, nor spared any vessel which 
they could overpower. Great quantities of property fell into 
their hands, and their captives were often inhumanly murder- 
ed. The United States schooner Alligator, lieutenant Allen, 
was despatched to the gulf of Mexico, in pursuit of the ma- 
rauders. When about entering the harbour of Matanzas, 
Allen receiving information that two American vessels, which 
had been seized by the pirates, were near that place, he 
immediately sailed to their relief. An action with the pirates 
ensued, in which the Americans were conquerors. Five 
American vessels were recaptured, and one piratical schooner 
taken. Lieutenant Allen, however, was wounded in the ac- 
tion, and soon after died, greatly lamented. 

10. The island of Cuba was made the principal place of 
rendezvous by the pirates, from whence they made such de- 
predations, that it became extremely hazardous for vessels 
to enter or leave the port of Havanna. Congress at length 
appropriated a sum of money for the suppression of piracy, 
and commodore Porter was sent with a squadron, consisting 
of one frigate, eight schooners, and five barges, to cruise in 
the gulf of Mexico. This display of force, and the protec- 
tion afforded to merchant vessels, greatly lessened the in- 
stances of piratical depredation, though it was some years 
before the pirates were entirely rooted out. The indepen- 
dence of the South American republicks, was this year ac- 
knowledged by the American government, and ministers were 
sent to Mexico, Buenos Ayres, Colombia and Chili. 

11. On the 15th of August, 1824, La Fayette visited the 
United States. He was received with the liveliest demon- 
strations of affectionate regard by the American people, wha 
thus testified that the important services rendered by him to 
their country in the day of her peril, had made a deep impres- 

26 



296 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

sion upon their hearts. Fayette made the tour of the United 
States, and in all places through which he passed, the citizens 
vied with each other in paying him the tribute of respect so 
justly due to his virtues. Before he left America, he paid a 
visit to the tomb of Washington, his early friend and compan- 
ion m danger, as well as his commander in the day of battle. 
When he arrived at the tomb, Mr. Custis, the adopted son of 
Washington, presented the illustrious visiter with a portion of 
the locks from the head of the Father of America. La 
Fayette received it with deep emotion, and unattended, en- 
tered the repository of the dead. " Nothing occurred to 
disturb its reverential solemnity. Not a murmur was heard 
save the strains of solemn musick, and the deep and mea- 
sured sound of artillery." 

12. Mr. Monroe's second term of service having expired, 
John Quincy Adams was elected to fill the presidential chair. 
During the administration of Mr. Monroe, near sixty mill- 
ions of the national debt were paid off; the Floridas were 
peaceably acquired, and the boundaries of the United States 
were extended to the Pacifick ocean. The internal taxes 
were repealed, the army reduced to the narrowest extent of 
efficiency, and its organization improved ; great progress 
was made in the suppression of the slave trade, and the In- 
dian tribes were advanced in civilization. 

13. In 1825, a treaty of commerce and navigation was 
formed between the United States and Colombia. " The 
basis of this treaty was laid in the principle of entire and 
unqualified reciprocity, and the mutual obligation of the par- 
ties to place each other on the footing of the most favoured 
nation." An invitation was received, about this time, by the 
United States government, from the South American repub- 
licks, to send representatives to the congress, which they had 
called at Panama. This was to be merely an assembly of 
diplomatick agents, having no powers except to negotiate 
and to discuss, and who were to be sent from those govern- 
ments only, by whose constitutions all foreign treaties are re- 
quired to be ratified by the delegates of the people, before 
they can go into effect. President Adams, in his first mes- 
sage to congress, recommended the acceptance of the invi- 
tation, on the ground that the relations subsisting between the 
government of the United States and the South American re- 
publicks, were different from those subsisting with the powers 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 299 

of Europe ; that a similarity in form of government existed 
between those repubiicks and the United States ; and that 
the states of South America looked to their brethren in North 
America, as their elders in the cause of freedom, and expect- 
ed friendship in their opposition to tyranny. After a warm 
and protracted debate, congress finally agreed to send two 
ministers to Panama. 

14. On the 4th of July, 1826, within a few hours of each 
other, died John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. The almost 
simultaneous death of these two illustrious patriots of the 
revolution, who had each of them filled the highest office in 
the gift of Americans, and on the anniversary too of that in- 
dependence which they had contributed so much to gain, im- 
pressed every mind with a deep feeling of awe and astonish- 
ment. In all the principal cities of the union, funeral proces- 
sions were formed, and funeral orations delivered ; the vessels 
in the harbours wore their colours at half mast ; the ships of 
the United States in port fired minute guns, and from one end 
of the union to the other, the revered dead were mourned 
with grief the most sincere. 

15. Early in the year 1826, a treaty of amity, navigation 
and commerce, was negotiated with Denmark, and ratified 
by the president and senate. By this treaty, the principles of 
equality and reciprocity, in their broadest and most liberal 
extent, were established ; each party agreeing to admit the 
vessels of the other into its ports, of the products of whatev- 
er quarter of the globe their cargoes might consist, upon 
the payment of such duties, and such only, as were charge- 
able upon their own. The relations subsisting between the 
United States and Prussia, Spain, and Portugal, and the Eu- 
ropean states in general, still continued to remain on terms 
of amity and friendly intercourse. But the parliament of 
Great Britain, acting upon the principle of monopolizing the 
trade of her colonies, passed an act, to restrain all colonial 
trade, except in British bottoms ; closing all colonial ports, 
except a few which were specified, to all foreign productions, 
unless imported in English ships. The United States sent 
an envoy extraordinary to the court of St. James, to enter 
into negotiations for the opening of colonial ports to Ame- 
rican vessels and American produce ; but he failed of suc- 
cess in the object, and another act was passed, refusing to 
the United States that which was granted on certain term? 






300 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

to vessels of other nations, the privilege of entering certain 
ports with specified articles of merchandise. 

16. In December, 1826, the navy of the United States 
consisted of twelve ships of the line, seventeen frigates of the 
first class, three of the second class, sixteen sloops of war, 
four schooners of twelve guns each, and three other vessels. 
Commodore Rogers was stationed in the Mediterranean with 
a part of this naval force, to protect the American commerce 
in that sea, and to cultivate the friendship of the powers on its 
borders ; commodore Jones was stationed, for the same pur- 
pose in the Pacinck, while at the same time, a watchful care 
was exercised over the interests of American commerce in 
the gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean sea. An armed ves- 
sel was kept on the coast of Africa, for the suppression of the 
slave trade, which was still carried on to a great extent under 
different flags, and often attended with circumstances of the 
most unfeeling barbarity on the part of the captains and 
crews of the slave ships. 

17. During the session of congress in 1826, a general 
bankrupt law for the United States was proposed. The mea- 
sure, however, did not succeed. Great sympathy was mani- 
fested throughout the union, in behalf of the Greeks, who suf- 
fered unheard of distresses from the Turks, against whom 
they had revolted. In every part of the United States, dona- 
tions in money, clothing, and articles of food, were made to 
a large amount, and sent to the sufferers. Many citizens of 
the United States sailed for Greece, and entered into her ar- 
mies to aid in defending her from her oppressors. In 1827, 
the British, in accordance with an arrangement entered into 
with the United States, paid the sum of upward of twelve hun- 
dred thousand dollars, as a compensation to the owners of 
those slaves who had, during the war, either voluntarily left their 
masters, or been forcibly carried off by the British troops. 

18. In 1828, a treaty of navigation and commerce was 
formed between the United States and the emperor of Aus- 
tria, on the principles of reciprocity and liberal intercourse. 
These principles were developed to the world in the first 
commercial treaty ever formed by the United States, and they 
have ever been the cherished policy of the union. During 
the wars, which so long agitated Europe, immediately subse- 
quent to the French revolution, and at the period when neu- 
tral rights were disregarded, the king of Denmark made mn 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 303 

iiy depredations upon the commerce of the United States, 
Soon after, a special mission was sent to demand of the 
Danes reparation for the injuries committed, and the king 
gave assurances, that at a period of greater tranquility and less 
distress, the claims for indemnity should be examined and 
adjusted. During this year, 1828, this promise was fulfilled 
in part, and a portion of the claims honourably adjusted. 

19. On the 25th of August, 1828, a treaty was formed be- 
tween the United States and the Winnebago, Pottawatamie, 
Chippewa, and Ottawa Indians, by which large portions of 
valuable territory were ceded to the American government. 
In the early part of this year much excitement prevailed 
throughout the union on the subject of the new tariff, by which, 
increased duties were imposed upon various articles of for- 
eign manufacture, with the intention of protecting and encour- 
aging American enterprise. As Mr. Adams was supposed 
to be in favour of the increased duties, his administration be- 
came quite unpopular, particularly in the southern and wes- 
tern states, and great preparations were made to elevate a 
person to the presidency, whose views and influence might be 
more favourable to the feelings and wishes of those parts of 
the union. 

20. On the 4th of March, 1829, Andrew Jackson, of Ten- 
nessee, was inaugurated president of the United States. Du- 
ring the administration of Mr. Adams, the internal and exter- 
nal interests of the union gradually improved ; the publick 
debt was lessened ; the resources of the country were multi- 
plied ; and though many interesting subjects were agitated, 
which in a greater or less degree affected different sections 
of the union, yet nothing transpired to afford any well ground- 
ed apprehension, in regard to the stability of the government, 
or the strength of the bond which unites the different states to 
each other. The revenue of the United States, in 1828, was 
$24,094,863, which, with a balance in the treasury on the 
1st of January, 1828, of $6,668,286, made the sum total of 
$30,763, 149, applicable during that year to publick purposes, 

21. In reviewing the history of the United States of Ameri- 
ca, the attentive observer cannot but notice the almost total 
departure from European principles and practices, which has 
marked their progress from colonies, to independence and 
freedom. Those who first began to people the wilds of 
America, emigrated from that country in Europe, in which 

26* 




302 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

knowledge had made the greatest advancement, but in whicii 
they had endured such persecutions and privations, as had 
rendered civil and religious liberty dear to their hearts. The 
period of their emigration was one which was eminently fit- 
ted for the formation of a new system of government, and no 
men could have been selected, better qualified for the task. 
By their knowledge, they were prepared to discern between 
the evil and the good of the political institutions of Europe : 
while their sufferings, by softening their feelings and eleva- 
ting their views, prepared them to reject all provisions whicii 
sacrificed the happiness of many, for the glory of a few, and 
they adopted only such as conferred equal rights upon all. 

22. Ecclesiastical establishments were almost co-existent 
with civil government in nearly every nation of Europe. In 
these establishments, were found numerous officers, for whose 
support, in almost regal splendour, and with enormous privile- 
ges, a tenth part of the income of the laity was rigidly exact- 
ed. In process of time, the clergy becoming possessed of 
wealth and rank, acquired nearly unbounded influence, and 
this was exerted to fix deep and firm their dominion over the 
human mind. Nor were the means they used unsuccessful. 
By continuing to increase their power and wealth, to which 
they added luxury and corruption, they at length incumbered 
society with burdens " grievous to be borne," and laid the 
foundation of a revolution, not only in the principles, but also 
in the forms of government. 

23. No part of these ecclesiastical establishments were 
received in America. The first settlers of the colonies were 
generally men eminent for their religious knowledge, unwil- 
ling to submit to a spiritual head on earth, or to receiv: 
dictation in regard to matters of faith. An apostolical sim- 
plicity in doctrine and practice was maintained, while the 
ministers of religion, neither sought or enjoyed any greater 
influence than that which was granted to superiour talents and 
piety. The first colonists, in their aversion and opposition to 
prelatical tyranny and religious establishments, undoubtedly 
ran into an extreme of bigotry in some instances, while in 
others, they seem to have been actuated by a spirit equally in- 
tolerant with that which forced them to seek an asylum in 
the wilderness. 

24. The doctrines of hereditary right, and inheritance b) 
primogeniture, were recieved and practised in Europe. Bv 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 303 

the fundamental regulations of the former, both monarchs 
and nobles transmitted their privileges and rank to their 
eldest son, even although he might be destitute of integrity or 
talents. In consequence, men who had been guilty of the 
most enormous excesses, by which whole communities, and 
even nations were involved in the calamities of blood-shed 
and war, were frequently found elevated to a throne, and to 
other exalted stations, while any attempt to remove or punish 
on the part of the suffering people, was stigmatized with the 
name of rebellion, and followed by confiscation and death. 
By the latter, the law of primogeniture, not only the title but 
the possessions of the father descended to the eldest son. 
while the younger members of the family were doomed to 
comparative, if not to actual indigence. Thus, one portion of 
the people were rich and the other poor ; and very few were 
placed in that happy mediocrity which has been proved fa- 
vourable to virtue and to improvement. 

25. These doctrines of hereditary right and of primogeni-' 
ture are rejected in America. In the colony of Virginia, 
and perhaps in some others, the latter was in force till after 
the war of the revolution, when it was abolished. But though, 
from the time of the first emigration to America, an equality 
of rights and privileges was established, yet as many of the 
governours made extravagant grants of territory to their fa- 
vourites, a great inequality of property was introduced. But 
the operation of salutary laws, and the revolution to which all 
human concerns are subject, have been constantly removing 
this inequality, and estates, which were once overgrown, and 
to the publick in a degree unproductive, are now divided and 
sub-divided among many, and consequently a greater portion 
of individual happiness is diffused. 

26. Enormous expenditure, and in consequence, burden- 
some taxes form a distinguishing feature in all the European, 
and indeed in all monarchial governments. In England, for 
instance, the mere support of the king and his relatives, costs 
the people nearly two and a half millions of dollars annually; 
while the compensation of the president of the United States 
is only twenty-five thousand dollars, for the same length of 
time. Great Britain expends yearly, for her military peace 
establishment, thirty-four millions of dollars : the United 
States but five millions. The tax in England annually 
amounts, on an average, to fifteen dollars for each individual : 



301 AMERICAN HISTORY 






that of the citizens of the United States is but two dollars; 
yearly. The lightness of the burdens imposed, and the ab- 
sence of all monopolies, have encouraged American citizens 
to embark in every enterprise embraced in the common pur- 
suits of man, in which they have met with the most anima- 
ting success. 

27. By far the greatest proportion of the inhabitants of the 
United States is engaged in Agriculture ; for which the 
country is most favourably situated. The soil in most parts 
is fertile, and may with ease be made to produce almost eve- 
ry vegetable necessary for manufactures, or for the suste- 
nance of man. In the northern states, maize, wheat, rye, 
oats, flax, hemp, and potatoes, are produced in large quanti- 
ties ; and vast numbers of sheep and cattle are fed and fat- 
tened in their pastures. Tobacco is produced in the middle 
and western states ; and also much larger quantities of wheat 
man in the northern. Cotton, rice, and sugar, form the prin- 
cipal productions of the southern states. The number of 
persons in the United States engaged in agriculture, in 1820, 
was two millions seventy thousand six hundred and forty- 
six. During the year ending on the 30th of September, 
1823, was exported from the United States, cotton to the 
value of $20,445,000 ; flour, to the value of $4,962,000 ; 
tobacco, to the value of $4,852,000 ; and rice, to the value 
of $1,821,000. Industry, morality, and intelligence, gene- 
rally distinguish the agricultural class of Americans ; but ow- 
ing to various causes, few of them have hitherto studied their 
profession as a science. Of late years, however, many cul- 
tivators of land, especially in the Atlantick states, have made 
practical application of the discoveries of scientifick men, and 
have enjoyed an ample reward in the increased products of 
their fields, and the visible and rapid improvement of the 
country. 

28. The commerce of the United States has, hitherto, 
yielded a most ample harvest to their citizens. Enjoying a 
sea-coast of near two thousand miles ; possessing in abun- 
dance, and easily to be obtained, the finest ship timber in the 
world ; living in the vicinity of fishing stations yielding inex- 
haustible supplies of the finest fish ; and enjoying, from the 
Mate of the world, for several years subsequent to the French 
revolution, almost the whole carrying trade of Europe, 
\merican citizeng found every encouragement for commcr- 



AMERICAN HISTORY. 305 

cial enterprise. Nor were they backward in taking advan- 
tage of these circumstances. In fifteen years from the year 
1793, the tonnage of America increased from 490,000, to 
1,242,000 tons. In 1820, the number of persons engaged 
in commerce was 72,493. Since the restoration of peace in 
Europe, the commerce of the United States has in some de- 
gree declined. Other nations are now permitted to become 
competitors with Americans, and to divide with them the 
profits of commercial intercourse. But the independence of 
the South American republicks, has opened a new and ex- 
tensive field for the enterprise of the merchants of the United 
States. 

29. To impart the advantages of education to the whole 
mass of the population, has been a leading and favourite ob- 
ject with the people of the United States. To effect this, 
many of the state legislatures have passed laws, ordaining that 
schools for the instruction of all the youth in reading, writing* 
and arithmetick, should be instituted and supported by a ge- 
neral and publick tax. As early as 1647, this system was 
adopted by Massachusetts. By a law then passed, every 
town in that colony, having fifty householders, was obliged to 
support a school, in which all the children who might resort to 
it should be taught to read and write. As the population of 
the towns increased, districts were established, in each of 
which a school was supported. Other colonies imitated the 
example of Massachusetts. Connecticut, having a large 
tract of land in Ohio, soon after the close of the revolutiona- 
ry war, sold it, and appropriated the avails, being $1,200,000, 
as a perpetual fund for the support of common schools. 
This fund has since been augmented to $1,700,000, and the 
interest is annually distributed among the several districts in 
the state, according to the number of children taught in each. 
No district is, however, entitled to the benefit of this fund, 
unless, in the preceding year, it had expended a certain 
amount derived from its own resources for the same purpose. 
The state of New- York has also a common school fund, 
amounting, in 1820, to $1,220,000. 

30. Harvard college, at Cambridge, (Mass.) is the oldest 
literary institution in the United States. It was founded in 
1638, eighteen years after the first settlement at Plymouth. 
In 1642, the first degrees were conferred upon nine gradu- 
ates, The library attached to this institution contains about 



0- 

: 



306 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

twenty-five thousand volumes. In 1824, the faculty consist- 
ed of a president and twenty professors ; the number of stu- 
dents was two hundred and twenty-two, and of resident gra- 
duates, one hundred and forty-six. Yale college was found- 
ed in 1700, and incorporated the next year. It was first es- 
tablished at Say brook, but was removed in 1716, to INew- 
Haven, in Connecticut. Klihu Yale, of London, having 
made a donation to it of more than four thousand dollars, its 
name, in 1718, was changed from the Collegiate School, to 
Yale College. The library of this institution contains about 
ten thousand volumes, and the faculty consists of a president 
and eleven professors. The number of students in 1824, 
was three hundred and forty-nine. There are in the union, 
about fifty colleges and universities, beside several theolo 
gical seminaries. 

31. Concerning the United States, the remark has ofte 
been made, that no literary and distinguished performa 
ces of merit, have marked the national character, and that 
they have produced no eminent scholars. This remark is 
comparatively just. America has not indeed produced any 
writers who have exhibited that polish of style, or that perse- 
verance and extent of investigation, which have distinguished 
those of the old world ; neither are their historians equal to 
Hume or Robertson ; their chymists to Lavosier or Davy ; 
or their poets to Milton or Pope. But America may boast 
of a Marshall, a Ramsay, a Belknap, a Williams, and a 
Holmes, in the historick department ; while as theological 
writers, Edwards, Hopkins, O wight, Davies, Koiiock and 
Buckminster, would do honour to any country, and to any na- 
tion. Many of the political writers of the United States, 
have displayed great force of expression, as well as great 
depth of thought. Of this, many numbers of the Federalist, 
the official letters of some of the secretaries of state, and 
of the American commissioners at Ghent, bear ample testi- 
mony. To the fine arts, less attention has been paid, than 
to other departments of science ; but America has the honour 
of being the birth-place of West, of Copley, of Stuart, of 
Trumbull, and of Alston, all of them eminent either in por- 
trait or historical painting. 

32. The enjoyment of religious liberty has resulted in the 
most favourable consequences. Religious toleration and 
free discussion are not only permitted but encouraged ; and 



AMERICAN HISTORY, 307 

the result has been, that the ignorant have been enlightened* 
superstition disarmed, and many erroneous sentiments con- 
signed to forgetfulness. In New-England, the most nume- 
rous denomination are the Congregauonalists, or independ- 
ents ; in the middle states, the Presbyterians : and in the south- 
ern, Methodists. Baptists and Episcopalians, in respectable 
numbers, are found m all the states. In Maryland and Lou- 
isiana, the Roman Catholicks are more numerous than in 
any other of the states. Beside the denominations already 
mentioned, the Quakers, the Shakers, the Moravians, and 
several other sects, are found in nearly all the states, each en- 
joying the most perfect liberty of conscience, and living in 
harmony with those who may differ from them in sentiment 
and practice. 

33. The distinguishing national character of the Ameri- 
cans, as far as developed by their history, may be said to be ? 
" an energy of purpose, capable of surmounting all obstacles; 
a spirit of enterprise that leaves nothing useful unattempted ; 
a proud sense of personal dignity and independence ;" and a 
love of knowledge which has in a great measure banished ig- 
norance from the land. Those who stand in the first ranks of 
society, are generally free from ostentation, formality, and re- 
serve ; but perhaps they do not display the same elegance 
and refinement of manners, as those of the same class in Eu- 
rope. Of the great body of the people, it may be said, that 
they are "serious, shrewd, inquisitive, manly," and generous; 
knowing little, and practising less, the ceremonies of mere 
compliment. When respectfully treated, they treat others 
with respect ; but when their feelings are needlessly wound- 
ed and their rights invaded, no people in the world will mani- 
fest a quicker or more determined resistance. Time, we 
may anticipate, will remove the more gross defects from the 
American character : but may the day be very far distant 
when it shall be so much debased as to threaten the destruc- 
tion of our free institutions. 

34. Compared with the principal nations of Europe, the 
United States are in some respects inferiour. But should 
they hereafter progress with the same rapidity as they have 
done, they will overtake and pass them. Unshackled and 
free, and possessing great natural advantages, Americans 
will be urged forward in the march of improvement, till in 
science and arts, in commerce and manufactures, they shall 



308 AMERICAN HISTORY. 

far surpass the mighty genius and enterprise of the old 
world, and assume an elevated rank among the nations of 
the world. The citizens of the United States should not 
forget that solemn responsibilities rest upon them ; that this 
nation is the oldest in the western hemisphere ; that as they 
are the first among existing republicks, the eyes of all na- 
tions are upon them ; that to them is committed an experi- 
ment, in the result of which, is suspended the happiness and 
freedom of unborn millions ; and that the question is not yet 
decided, whether the genius of liberty or of despotism shall 
foe finally triumphant in the earth. 

QUESTIONS* 

1. What occurred soon after the ratification of peace with Great 
Britain ? — 2. What is said of the army of the United States at the close 
of the war? — 3. What society was formed in 1816? — 4. What occur- 
red March 4, 1817 ?— 5. With whom were the United States engaged 
in a war in the year 1818 ? — 6. With what nations did the U. States 
conclude treaties of commerce this year ? — 7. For how many dollars 
was Florida ceded to theU. States in 1819? — 8. What question geatly 
agitated the minds of the American peopie during the year 1820? — 
9. What demanded the attention of the American government in 1822 ? 
30. What is said of the island of Cuba?— 11. When did La Fayette 
visit the U. States ? — 12. When Mr. Monroe's second term of service 
expired, who was elected to the presdential chair? — 13. What treaty 
was formed in 1825 ?-— 14. What occurred on the 4th July, 1826? — 
35. What treaty was negotiated in the year 1826? — 16. What is said 
of the navy of the U. States in Dec. 1826? — 17. What was proposed 
during the session of congress in 1826 ? — 18. What treaty was formed 
in 1828 ?-— 19. What one on the 25th August, 1828 ?— - 20. Who was 
inaugurated president of the U. States on the 4th March, 1829? — 
21. In a review of the U. States, what will an attentive observer no- 
tice ?— 22. What were co-existent with civil government in Europe ? 
23. Were any part of these establishments received in America? — 24. 
What doctrines were received in Europe ? — 25. Are these doctrines 
received in America ? — 26. What form a distinguishing feature in all 
jmonarchial governments? — 27. In what is the greatest proportion of 
the inhabitants of the U. States engaged? — 28. What is said of the 
commerce of the U. States? — 29. What was a leading and favourite 
object with the people of the U. States ?— 30. Which is the oldest lite- 
rary institution in the U. States? — 31. What remark has often been 
made concerning the U. States ? —32. What has produced the most 
favourable consequences? — 33. What may be said respecting the na- 
tional character of the Americans? — 34. How do the U. States com- 
pare with the principal nations of Europe ? 



H/UESTIOHS 

FOR THE REVIEW OF 



SECTION I. 

1 What reasons are given for supposing- that America was peopled 

from Asia ? 

2 Did the Indians of America possess any books or manuscripts ? 

3 What method was in use among them to declare war, or express a 

desire for peace ? 

4 What powerful people did the Leni Lenape meet with on the banks 

of the Mississippi river ? 

5 From whence did the Iroquois emigrate ? 

6 What river and mountains probably received their names from the 

Alligewi ? 

7 What took place between the Delawares and the Alligewi ? 
i 8 What became of the Alligewi ? 

9 Where was the original seat of the Iroquois ? 

10 Of what tribes did the confederacy of the Five Nations consist ? 

11 What tribe afterward joined the confederacy ? 

12 What tribes acknowledged the Delawares as their ancestors ? 

13 What took place between the Delawares and the Iroquois ? 

14 What was the event ? 

15 At what time did this war rage ? 

16 Why were the Tuscaroras driven out of North Carolina? 

17 What is said of the Indians of cape Hatreras? 

18 What is conjectured from this circumstance ? 

19 What became of the Yamasees ? 

20 What does Seminole mean ? 

21 What is the present state of the Choctaws, Cbickasaws, and 

Cherokees ? 

22 What happened to the Indians of New-Euglaad jast before the 

English landed at Plymouth ? 

23 What is said of the language of the Iroquois ? 

24 What of that of the Cherokees ? 

25 What is said of the method of using the wampum in making' 

treaties ? 

26 To whom do the Indians assign the chief place in their Elysium? 

SECTION II. 

27 What is said of the claims of the Welsh, &c, to the htntur ©f dis- 

covering America ? 

28 Who took the lead in attempts at discovery ? 

27 






29 What seems to have been the immediate object of the first voyage 

of Columbus ? 

30 How were the plans of Columbus received by the great and learned 

31 What island was first discovered? 

32 To what cluster does it belong ? 

33 What happened to Columbus while returning to Spain ? 

34 How was he received in Spain ? 

35 Why were the newly discovered islands called West Indies? 

36 When did Columbus die, and at what age ? 

37 When and by whom was the cape of Good Hope doubled? 

38 How long after the discovery of America, did Magellan reach the 

Pacifick ocean? 

39 Who discovered Newfoundland, and when ? 

40 How far north did they sail? 

41 When did the French first make discoveries in America ? 

42 What did John Verrazano do? 

43 In whose service did James Cartier sail ? 

44 Where did he winter, and build a fort ? 

45 What name did he give the country ? 

46 Who set out in 1639 from Cuba in search of gold? 

47 How far from its mouth did he reach the Mississippi? 

48 To what river did he penetrate westward ? 

49 What did his troops do after his death ? 

50 How many settlers did La Roque carry out to Canada in 1542 ? 

51 Where did he build a fort, and winter ? 

52 What became of him ? 

53 For how many years did the settlers in Canada receive no aid from 

their countrymen ? 

54 Where did Laudonier build a fort? 

55 What did he call it ? 

56 Why ? 

57 What did the French do three years after the Spaniards destroyed 

the settlement at St. Marys 

58 W T hat lands did queen Elizabeth grant to Sir H. Gilbert ? 

59 What became of him ? 

60 What course did the commanders of the vessels sent by Raleigh 

take to approach America ? 

61 Where did they land 1 

62 What name did Elizabeth give the country ? 

63 What became of the colony left by Grenville at Roanoke ? 

64 Did the London company attempt to colonize ? 

65 What islands did Gosnold discover ? 

66 How long was he absent from England on that voyage 1 

67 What was the name of De Monts' pilot ? 

68 What became of him? 

69 Where did the planters sent out by the Plymouth company land f 

70 What happened to those that were left? 

SECTION III. 

71 Up what river did Newport sail 1 

72 How far from its mouth did he select a place for settlement 1 

73 What did he call the place ? 



74 Did the Indians annoy the settlers ? 

75 What causes produced diseases among the colonists? 

76 Had Smith been excluded from the council ? 

77 Was he now invited to take his seat, and share in the adminis- 

tration ? 

78 What did those who captured Smith do with him ? 

79 Was he sentenced to die? 

80 Who interposed to save his life ? 

81 How long was he in captivity ? 

82 Who assisted the Indians around Quebec, against the Iroquois? 

83 Where did the hostile parties have a battle ? 

84 Which party was defeated ? 

85 Who was made governour of Virginia for life ? 

86 Whom did he despatch with settlers ? 

87 How many ships reached Jamestown ? 

88 What became of the other vessel? 

89 Did the colony fall into disorder ? 

90 What disabled Smith from acting with his usual promptitude? 

91 Whom did the returning colonists meet at the mouth of the river ? 

92 What induced him to return to England in 161 1 ? 

93 Who succeeded him ? 

94 How was Pocahontas received in England ? 

95 Did she return to America ? 

96 What is said of her descendants? 

97 Into how large lots was the land at first divided ? 

98 How many acres were afterward assigned to each settler ? 

99 What was the principal article cultivated ? 

100 Where did the Dutch erect trading houses? 

101 Why did the English reject the claim of the Dutch to the country ? 

102 Who visited the Dutch at Manhattan, and demanded possession 

of the country ? 

103 Did the Dutch yield ? 

104 What name did Prince Charles bestow upon the country explored 

by Smith? 

105 For what reason did cape Ann receive its name? 

106 What did governour Yeardly do ? 

107 How many corporations sent representatives to the general as 

sembly of Virginia. 

108 Who were about this time sent over from England? 

109 What was the price of a wife? 

110 What is said of the London and Plymouth companies, after the 

partition of territory made by James I. ? 

111 What name was given to the dissenters in England ? 

112 What promise did they obtain from James I. ? 

113 At what place in America did they intend to settle ? 

114 What was the first land they made ? 

115 What did they do before they left the ship ? 

116 What soon brought them into a distressed situation ? 

117 How many of their number perished before spring? 

118 Who befriended them ? 

119 How far were the boundaries of the grant made by Holland sup 

posed to extend ? 



I 

209 How many wigwams were burned ? 

210 What means did Philip use to excite the Mohawks to war 

211 What became of Philip ? 

212 What were the provisions of the navigation act ? 

213 How did Bacon obtain a commission from governour Berkley ? 

214 What became of Bacon ? 

215 What controversy was settled two years before the separation oi 

New-Hampshire from Massachusetts ? 

216 How did Massachusetts obtain the title to Maine ? 

217 Did the proprietors of N. Jersey resist the claim of the duke oi 

York to that province ? 

218 What did Andross do? 

219 How was the difficulty settled ? 

220 Who was appointed governour ! 

221 What did he do in 1681 ? 

222 Whv was Pennsylvania granted to William Penn 1 

223 What did the duke of York grant to Penn in 16&2 ? 

224 How long was Delaware a part of Pennsylvania? 

225 Where did Penn hold a talk with the Indians ? 

226 How many ships arrived with settlers in less than one year ! 

227 What sect were they, principally ? 

228 What object had they in coming to America ? 

229 What did Dongan, governour of New-York call ? 

230 Of what did the assembly consist? 

231 What power did it possess ? 

232 How many men did De La Barre lead against the Five Nat 

233 Why did he find it desirable to make a treaty ? 

234 How did, the campaign end ? 

235 How many perished at Montreal ? 

236 What was the consequence of these disasters ? 

237 What was each colony directed to place at London ? 

238 What charter was declared forfeited in 1684? 

239 Who was appointed governour? 

240 For what did Andross go to Hartford ? 

241 What took place there ? 

242 Who headed the Orange party in New-York ? 

243 What is said of Leisler ? 

244 Who was his counsellor ? 

245 What became of Leisler? 

246 Relate the circumstances of the attack on Schenectady . 

247 Relate those of the attack on Salmon Falls ? 

248 What fort and settlement were destroyed by the same party 

249 Who commanded the forces sent to take Port Royal ' 

250 How long was the fleet gone from Boston ? 

251 What expedition was next undertaken ? 

252 Was it successful ? 

253 How many of the French were slain at La Praire'' 

254 What is said of Seth Sothel ? 

SECTION V. 

255 What was the first act of governour Phipp's administ»v> iuii 

256 What law had been passed in England respecting witchcraft 



257 Did the physicians pronounce the children of Mr. Paris bewitched v 

258 Whom did the children accuse as the author of their torments ? 

259 What distinguished persons were among the accused ? 

260 Why did governour Fletcher go to Connecticut? 

261 What did the proprietors of Carolina do in 1693? 

262 What French nobleman early formed a settlement on the Penob- 

scot ? 

263 Did the English succeed in capturing biiw ? 

264 Relate the manner in which rice was introduced into N. Carolina 

265 Who commanded the French fleet sent to destroy Boston ? 

266 Was the design successful ? 

267 When was a treaty of peace made between France and England ? 

268 To what party was Fletcher opposed? 

269 When did Bellamont die ? 

270 Who succeeded him ? 

271 What were the terms of Penn's new charter ? 

272 Did it appease the discontents of the people? 

273 Whom did queen Anne appoint governour of New-Jersey ? 

274 Whatorder was given to Viileborne, governour of Canada ) 

275 Against what powers did England declare war in 1701? 

276 Under whose command was the party which proceeded by land 

to St, Augustine ? 

277 For what reason did the expedition fail ? 

278 What did tfie government of N. Carolina do to defray theexpcn 

ses of the expedition ? 

279 Did the expedition against the Appalachian Indians succeed ? 

280 Did the eastern Indians continue friendly to New-England? 

281 By what means did the Indians enter the fort atDeerfieki? 

282 What loss did the French sustain in the autumn of this year 1 

283 By whom was the colony of Carolina invaded ? 

284 How many persons were slain at Haverhill in 1708? 
2S5 What happened to the Palatines settled on the Roanoke? 

286 Who commanded the fleet sent against Canada in 1711 

287 Where was an army of the provincials assembled ? 

288 Who commanded it ? 

289 What befel the fleet at the mouth of the St. Lawrence 7 

290 What was the result of a council of war ? 

291 What tribe of Indians attacked South Carolina ? 

292 How many warriours could the six southern nations of Indians 

muster in this war ? 

293 What was the result of the battle at Salt Catchers ? 

294 What did the settlers at Londonderry introduce ? 

295 What took place in Maryland the year after ? 

296 What effect did the appearance of the Aurora Borealis have on 

the minds of the people ? 

297 Who was appointed governour of New-York the same year t' at 

the Aurora appeared 1 

298 For what purpose were commissioners delegated? 

299 How was it proposed to sustain the value of the paper curren cy 

in Massachusetts ? 

300 What was the matter in dispute ? 

301 What produced a rupture between the Gov, and the assembly ? 



8 

302 What did the new govemour of New-York attempt? 

303 What fort did he build for this purpose? 

304 What grand plan did the French have in view at this time 

SECTION VI. 

305 How many acres of land were assigned to each settler in Georgia 

306 What was the effect of this arrangement? 

307 W r ho visited the colon v in 1736? 

308 Who in 1738? 

309 W r hat did the Spaniards do before the commencement of hostilities' 

310 What did tbey next attempt? 

311 Did the insurrection df the negroes succeed? 

312 When did New-Jersey receive a separate charter from N. York" 

313 What was founded the same year? 

314 What city was burned in the year 1739? 

315 How large a sum did parliament grant the sufferers? 

316 What measures did Oglethorpe take to deceive the Spaniards? 

317 When did Georgia receive its charter? 

318 Of what place did govemour Shirley propose the reduction? 

319 Did the general court of Massachusetts at first disapprove the 

design? 

320 Did it afterward consent? 

321 How long did the siege last? 

322 By what causes were the French induced to abandon their in- 

tended invasion of New-England? 

323 When did the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle take place? 

324 Did the French annoy the servants of the Ohio company? 

325 How far did the govemour of Virginia interfere? 

326 Was the mission of Washington successful? 

327 When did he begin his march toward the Ohio? 

328 What did he learn at the Great Meadows? 

329 Did be determine to attack fort Du Quesne? 

330 Relate what afterward occurred? 

331 Why was not the plan of colonial union adopted by the king and 

the colonies? 

332 How many, and what expeditions were proposed in 1755 ? 

333 What was the result of the first and fourth? 

334 Who was sent to re-enforce colonel Blanchard, at fort Edward? 

335 What happened to him 1 

336 How many of the French were killed in the attack upon tin 

English camp? 

337 What occurred the next day? 

338 How many, and what expeditions were proposed in 1756? 

339 By whom was Shirley suspended? 

340 Who was appointed govemour of Virginia in 1756? 

341 How long did the siege of fort William Henry continue? 

342 What were the terms of the capitulation? 

343 Were they violated ? 

344 Was Mr. Pitt's character popular in America? 

345 What three expeditions were undertaken in 1758? 

346 Who commanded the force destined to act against Louisburg 

347 When did the army under Abercrombie pass Jake George'' 



348 Who was killed in a skirmish near Ticonderoga? 

349 How long- did the attack on the fort continue? 

350 What was the plan of the campaign of 1759? 

351 Where was the French army encamped ? 

352 By what means did Wolfe's army reach the plains of Abraham? 

353 What took place after Wolfe was wounded and carried into the 

rear? 

354 What reply did Montcalm make when told he could not survive 

his wound ? 

355 How long after the defeat of the French army did Quebec capitu 

late? 

SECTION VII. 

356 What at this time was the opinion in Europe respecting colonies ? 

357 Who in parliament proposed the stamp-Ect ? 

358 Who was among the most distinguished in parliament for his op- 

position to the stamp-act? 

359 Did the act pass I 

360 What did Dr. Franklin write to Mr. Thompson, and what wa? 

the reply of the latter ? 

361 What did the general court of Massachusetts propose? 

362 What was the first act of the first congiess ? 

363 What declaration did parliament make when they repealed the 

stamp-act 1 

364 How many regiments of troops arrived at Boston on the 28th of 

September '( 

365 Where did the governour quarter them ? 

366 How many chests of tea were destroyed at Boston? 

367 Who was appointed governour of Massachusetts in the room o( 

Hutchinson ? 

368 Where did he direct the general court to meet ? 

369 What was their first act 

370 Who was chosen president of the first congress ? 

371 What was the first measure of congress ? 

372 What was their next measure? 

373 Who commanded the detachment sent to destroy the stores at 

Concord ? 

374 Relate the circumstances which occurred ? 

375 Who led the expedition against Ticonderoga and Crown Point ? 

376 What was the result of the expedition ? 

377 What provision did congress make for meeting the expenses of 

the war ? 

378 What village did the British burn while advancing to attack the 

Americans on Bunker Hill ? 

379 How many times were the British repulsed in that attack ? 

380 What distinguished American officer was slain ? 

381 When did Georgia join the confederation? 

382 What was established about this time ? 

383 Who was appointed postmaster general ? 

384 Who greatly distinguished himself in privateering exploits? 

385 What was the result of the attack by the British on Sullivan V 

Island ? 

386 How many men did they lose ? 



10 

SECTION VIII. 

387 What effect did the declaration of independence have upon the 

contest * 

388 What upon the colonies ? 

389 Upon taking possession of Staten Island, what proclamation did 

Howo issue ? 

390 Why did not Washington receive the letter which Howe address- 

ed to him ? 

391 What was Carleton, who commanded in Canada, expected to do : 

392 How were the three divisions of the American army stationed ? 

393 VV hen did the British attack the Americans, and with what result ? 

394 Who were appointed to meet the British commissioners? 

395 Why were not terms of accommodation agreed upon? 

396 What measures did congress adopt for recruiting the army? 

397 What American officer was slain in the action near N. York? 

398 What did the British commander now labour to do ? 

399 What course did Washington take after the battle of White 

Plains? 

400 How many of the British were killed in the assault on -fort Wash- 

ington? 

401 What did the British do on the 8th of Nov.? 

402 Mention the events of the American retreat across N. Jersey? 

403 What did Howe do after Washington had crossed the Delaware ' 

404 Was the American army in a distressed situation? 

405 What classes accepted the terms of Howe's proclamation? 

406 By the presence and counsels of what generals was Washington 

at this time aided ? 

407 How many prisoners did Washington take in the attack upon 

Trenton? 

408 Relate what occurred while Cornwallis was advancing to attack 

Washington at Trenton? 

409 What were the consequences of the excesses of the British and 

Hessians? 

410 When did the British take possession of Rhode Island ? 

411 What did congress do on the 4th of October? 

412 Who were sent to France as commissioners? 

413 What were they instructed to do? 

414 What did governour Tryon do on the 25th of March? 

415 What was La Fayette's reply when told of the poverty of America ; 

416 Of how many regulars did Burgoyne's army consist? 

417 Where did Burgovne make his first encampment? 

418 What did he here do? 

419 What befel genera) Herkimer? 

420 Who commanded the fort at Ticonderoga? 

421 By what mount was the fort overlooked ? 

422 What did Burgoy ne do on the 5th of July ? 

423 Relate the circumstances of the battle of Bennington 1 

424 Where did an engagement take place on the 19th Sept.? 

425 Where, on the 7th of Oct.? 

426 How long did it last, and what was the result ? 

427 How many prisoners, muskets, and field pieces fell into the hands 

of the Americans at the surrender of Burgoync ? 



11 

428 What were the terms of the capitulation ? 

429 How many men did Howe land at the head of Elk river 3 

430 At what place did *N ashington encamp ? 

431 What was the result of the battle of Brandy wine ? 

432 To what place did congress remove from Philadelphia ? 

433 How did count Donop's attack on Red Bank result? 

434 What afterward occurred ? 

435 Who was at the head of the cabal against Washington ? 

436 By whom was the treaty with France signed ? 

437 W hat took place on the 20th of March ? 

SECTION IX. 

138 To what did the British commissioners next resort, after the fail- 
ure of their negotiations with congress ? 

439 When did the battle of Monmouth take place, and with what result? 

440 Why did not De Estaign attack the British fleet in the harbour oi 

New- York ? 

441 By what was the campaign of 1778 distinguished ? 

442 What were the names of the chiefs who led them to these deeds ? 

443 Why was the settlement of Wyoming defenceless at this time 1 

444 How many men had Brandt and Butler 1 

445 What reply did Butler make to colonel Denison, when asked what 

terms he would grant ! 

446 Relate what took pace on the 28th of December ? 

447 What number of American soldiers fell into the hands of the 

British 1 

448 Where did Washington take up his winter quarters near the close 

of 1778? 

449 Who took command of the American forces at the south, after the 

reduction of Georgia ? 

450 What prevented active operations till September ? 

451 Who in that month arrived from the West Indies 1 

452 What was the result of the assault on Savannah l 

453 Who was mortally wounded in the assault 1 

454 Did the Americans re-capture Stony Point? 

455 Relate the circumstances of the attack ? 

456 Of what nation was Paul Jones ? 

457 Of how many ships did his squadron consist? 

458 With what did he fall in, on the coast of Scotland \ 

459 What were the circumstances of the action after the two frigates 

were lashed together ? 

460 What effect did the depreciation of the currency have upon the 

publick morals ? 

461 What amount of bills had been issued by congress up to this time f 

462 What did Massachusetts do to dislodge the British from Penobscot 1 
663 To what was the failure of the expedition owing? 

464 What at this time perplexed congress? 

465 What was congress urged to yield to each ? 

466 What was the character of Mrs. Washington? 

SECTION X. 

467 When did Clinton and his army appear before Charleston v 

468 Did the city capitulate ? 



12 

469 What was the agreement between the court of Versailles and 

congress ? 

470 What order did Washington give in regard to the national flags ? 

471 Who was appointed to the command of the southern American 

arm v . 

472 Where did he take post ? 

473 What was the probable cause of his defeat at Camden ? 

474 What was his loss ? 

475 What officer was mortally wounded ? 

476 With what command did congress invest Arnold ? 

477 What course did congress take in regard to his claims upon go- 

vernment ? 

478 What sentence did the court martial pronounce upon him ? 

479 Of what important post did he ask and obtain command? 

480 What did he agree to do ? 

481 Where did Arnold and Andre meet ? 

482 Relate the circumstances of Andre's capture? 

483 Was Clinton anxious to save Andre ? 

484 What reward did Arnold obtain for his treason? 

485 What became of him ? 

486 Relate the circumstances of the mutiny of the Pennsylvania 

troops 1 

487 Who met them at Princeton ? 

488 How much money did France give the United States ? 

489 How much did Holland loan them ? 

490 What amount in bills, signed by the treasurer alone, were at one 

time in circulation 7 

491 What was the British loss at the battle of the Cowpens? 

192 At the battle of Guilford court-house, how numerous was the array 
of Greene ? 

493 What did both commanders find it necessary to do? 

494 Soon after the battle at Hobkirk's hill, what British posts surren. 

dered to the Americans ? 

495 When the war commenced, what part did colonel Hayne take ? 

496 After he was taken prisoner what was he offered? 

497 Which did he choose, and why? 

498 Was he again taken prisoner? 

499 Relate the circumstances of the action at Eutau Springs? 

500 What was the loss of the British ? 

501 Whom did Washington send to oppose Arnold in Virginia ? 

502 Where did the British and French fleets meet ? 

503 When did Cornwallis enter Yorktown ? 

504 What did Washington do to prevent Clinton sending aid to Corn 

wall is? 

505 When did the allied armies reach the place of rendezvous ? 

506 Of how many men did they consist? 

507 Did Cornwallis and his army capitulate? 

508 What terms were granted to them ? 

509 To what number did the prisoners amount? 

510 What took place the same day the capitulation was signed ? 

511 What effect did the loss of a second army have upon the miniv 

and people of England ? 



13 

612 Who were appointed agents to treat with the American commit 

sioners ? 

613 Why did congress decline the negotiation ? 

614 Who were sent to Paris by the British to meet the American go 

vernment ? 

615 What took place on the 20th January, 1783? 

616 When was the definitive treaty signed ? 

617 What is said of the terms granted to America ? 

618 What was circulated among the officers of the army at ISevvburgh ? 

619 What did Washington say, when he arose to address the officers ? 

620 Relate the circumstances of Washington's taking leave of his offi- 

cers ? 

621 What did the insurgents in Massachusetts do in August ? 

622 What occurred on the 25th of January ? 

623 How many of the states at first ratified the constitution ? 

624 When was the newly organized government to go into operation 1 

625 Of what does the legislative department of the government consist? 

626 By whom were the several departments of state filled ? 

627 What did Hamilton in his report recommend ? 

628 Were his measures adopted ? 

629 How many inhabitants did the U. S. contain at the first census ? 

630 What was the amount of the revenue ? 

631 Of the exports ? 

632 Of the imports? 

633 Who was sent against the Indians ? 

634 Where was he defeated ? 

635 Who succeeded him ? 

636 Relate the circumstances of the action at the Miami villages? 

637 Who arrived at Charleston as minister from France ? 

638 What did he do ? 

639 Did Washington approve of his conduct? 

640 Where did Wayne and his army engage the Indians? 

641 Which were defeated ? 

642 What were the terms of Jay's treaty ? 

643 Did the president ratify it ? 

644 Who was sent as minister to France? 

645 What information did Mr. Adams receive soon after he came in- 

to office ? 

646 What laws did congress pass ? 

647 What measures did congress adopt for retaliation and defence ? 

648 Who were now sent as envoys to France ? 

649 Whom did they find at the head of the French government? 

650 What was the president authorized to do by the alien law ? 

651 What were the provisions of the sedition law? 

652 How much did the United States give for Louisiana? 

SECTION XII. 

653 What American commander blockaded the harbour of Tripoli? 

654 What courageous act did lieutenant Stephen Decatur perform? 

655 With whom did general Eaton enter into a league ? 

656 What city did Eaton capture? 

657 Who made a treaty with Tripoli ? 

28 



14 

058 How many dollars did the United States pay for the ransom oi 
two hundred men ? 

659 Relate the cause and circumstances of the duel between Burr and 

Hamilton ? 

660 Upon what maxim did England and France appear to act about 

this time ? 

661 In what political condition is man considered by the American 

constitution ? 

662 Acting upon these principles, what laws had congress earlv 

passed ? 

663 By what means had Burr lost the confidence of the two parties in 

the union ? 

664 Thus situated, where did he retire ? 

665 What did he there do, and under what pretext ? 

666 When and where was he arrested, and where taken for trial 7 

667 Was he acquitted ? 

668 To what place was the frigate Chesapeake sent on a cruise ? 

669 What happened soon after she left the coast ? 

670 What did the British government do in regard to this transaction r 

671 Did they finally make satisfaction ? 

672 What did congress do on the recommendation of the president ? 

673 Did the embargo cause discontents in New-England? 

674 How long was the non-intercourse act to be in force, and what was 

provided by it ? 

675 What took place in April ? 

676 Did the British government refuse to sanction the engagement of 

its minister ? 

677 What assurance did Bonaparte give Mr. Armstrong in August 9 

678 What proclamation did the president issue in November? 

679 What had Great Britain promised ? 

680 Relate the circumstances of the rencounter between the frigate 

President, and Little Belt ? 

681 What took place at Tippecanoe 1 

682 Relate the circumstances of the action ? 

683 How many American vessels had fallen into the hands of tht 

British since 1803? 

684 What documents did the president lay before congress February 

25th, 1812? 

685 Who was the British agent in this business ? 

686 What reasons did the president assign for declaring war? 

687 Did the British in Canada receive the news of the declaration ol 

war before general Hull in Ohio ? 

688 AVhat were they in consequence able to do ? 

689 Where did Hull take post on the 12th of July, and what did he 

there do ? 

690 Were general Hull and his armv included in the armistice agreed 

to by general Dearborn ? 

691 What opinion do subsequent events appear to warrant 

692 What took place on the 9th of August ? 

693 Relate the circumstances of Hull's surrender ? 

694 Was the sentence of the court martial executed upon Hull ' 

695 Why not ? 



15 

SECTION XIII. 

696 What did captain Dacres do a short time previous to the rencoun- 

ter between the Constitution and Guerriere ? 

697 What was the British loss in that action ? 

698 What was the American ? 

699 Where did general Dearborn have his head quarters ? 

709 How many of the New-York militia were stationed on the Niagara 
frontier ? 

701 Relate the circumstances of the attack upon Queenston ? 

702 What British general received a mortal wound in that attack ? 

703 Why did the militia refuse to cross the river? 

704 How many of the Americans were, killed, wounded, and taken 

prisoners ? 

705 Where was general Winchester posted ? 

706 What occurred on the 4th of September ? 

707 What was the result of the attack ? 

708 What did the Indians do soon after, in revenge for their defeat? 

709 What was the comparative loss of the British and Americans in 

the action between the Wasp and Frolick ? 

710 What took place two hours after the action ? 

711 Relate the circumstances of the action between the frigates United 

States and Macedonian ? 

712 Between the Constitution and the Java? 

713 What were the circumstances of the massacre et Frenchtown ? 

714 Give an account of the attack on fort Stephenson ? 

715 What American general was mortally wounded in the attack upon 

York? 

716 What took place while these events were transpiring on the Nia- 

ara frontier ? 

717 Relate the circumstances of the attack on Burlington Heights ? 

718 Give an account of Perry's victory on Lake Erie? 

719 What noted Indian chief was slain in the action on the Thames r 

720 What British admiral was sent up the Delaware ? 

721 Of what tplace on the Delaware did the British take possession r 

722 What took place on the 22d of June ? 

723 What on the 25th? 

724 What orders did Wilkinson receive from the secretary of war? 

725 What took place soon after the action at Williamsburg ? 

726 What did a council of war decide ? 

727 What did the British do by way of retaliation for the burning of 

Newark ? 

728 Relate the circumstances of the naval action between the Hornet 

and Peacock ? 

729 Of the action between the Chesapeake and Shannon ? 

730 Who was mortally wounded in the action between the Argus and 

Pelican? 

731 What was the loss of the Indians at the battle of Tallushatchie ? 

732 What was it at Talladega ? 

733 What at Autossee ? 

734 Relate the circumstances of the action atTohopeka ? 

735 Narrate Weatherford's speech ? 






16 



SFCTIOS XXV m 

.3(3 Who were sent to Russia, to meet commissioners from Grekt 
Britain ? 

737 What did England decline, and what did she offer? 

738 Who were appointed commissioners on the part of England ? 

739 What financial measures did confess adopt at their extra session 

in May, 18)3 ? 

740 What retaliatory measures did they adopt at the same time? 

741 What took place at Sandy Creek ? 

742 What occurred on the 3d of JuJy ? 

743 Relate the circumstances of »he battle at Chippewa? 

744 What was the British loss at the battle of Bridgewater? 

745 What was the American ? 

746 What was the loss of the Biitish at the assault on fort Erie? 

747 What occurred on the 19th, 20th, and 22d of August, in the Che- 

sapeake? 

748 To what did the loss of pubiick property amount at the capture 

of Washington ? 

749 How many men did general Ross land at North Point on the 12tl 

of September ? 

750 What did the governour of New Brunswick do in August ? 

751 How many men did Provost lead against Plattsburg ? 

752 Of how many vessels did the British flotilla on lake Cham plain 

consist? 

753 Of how many did the American 1 

754 Relate the circumstance;; of the action on lake Champlain ? 

755 Relate the principal circumstances of Porter's cruise in the Pa- 

cinck ? 

756 Give an account of the action between Porter and Hillyar at 

Valparaiso ? 

757 What took place on the 29th of April, 1814 ? 

758 What on the 28th June ? 

759 Did the Wasp ever return to the United States? 

760 What amendments did the Hartford convention propose to the 

constitution ? 

761 Why did Jackson take possession of Pensacola ? 

762 Relate the circumstances of the attack on New-Orleans, Jan. 8th? 

763 What were the stipulations of the treaty with England ? 

764 What naval action took place on the 20th of February ? 

765 What on the 23d of March ? 

I 'CTIOHT ".XV. 

766 What is the capital of the national bank established in 1816? 

767 What did congress do in 1819 f 

768 When was Alabama made a state? 

769 Under what circumstances was lieutenant Allen killed? 

770 Relate the circumstances of La Fayette's visit to Washington's 

tomb ? 

771 What did president Adams recommend in his first message" 

772 What was the revenue of the United States in 1828? 



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